My Thoughts on Comments

Commentary can be made by anybody. That means people with a vested interest in the topic with information ideas or people who think they know what they are talking about can say whatever they want. So, in this case, not all comments can be taken equally as seriously.

Poor Commentary:
1)

Some commentary doesn't involve a whole lot of information to back up their claim. This means that their information is not quite as reliable since the reader does not know what exactly the writer is referring to. SurvivalOfTheAdaptable brings up that the US has a home/family problem but never really mentions what that problem is. It makes his information seem less credible.

This writer is definitely expressing a bit of anxiety towards the government getting involved in the education system. They believe that the government has bigger issues in which to be concerned. No hopeful thinking is brought up in the future about anything the government can do to improve upon the polices they have in place other than the obvious option of doing nothing.

Bill goes on to congratulate SurvivalOfTheAdaptable for sticking to his ideals and not being afraid of saying how he felt on the topic. SurvivalOfTheAdaptable seems to have had poor person experience in the home/family department.

But in order to redirect the commentary in that way means that that idea is on SurvivalOfTheAdaptable's mind. Either he finds family values very important and feels that is what the government should be focusing on, or has something to do with a bad experience of his.

2)

This post experiences the same issues as the above one. Shabby Road doesn't even really comment on the article about the No Child Left Behind, but rather the image that is included in the article. This declines his credibility since his attention is not even brought to the initial topic of the article.

This person does not really seem to be in fear of anything or wishing for a different outcome of the Act. It seems that Shabby is much more entertained by the picture of the child holding the pencil rather than the actual information itself. It is the first thing the reader sees and the information of the page draws your eyes to the picture a bit. more out of curiosity than anything.

Once again this post makes it hard to see the personal views of the writer since they did not really put the effort into writing much down. It seems Shabby is missing the point of the article.

But his name does link to his social networking sites, so you are able to explore the kind of person he is and further distinguish his credibility.

Now, lets move on to some more in depth and credible sources. 

Good Commentary:
3)

Esther makes good points about the cycle of the education system and what really makes the difference in the level of knowledge of the students. Teaching a person thing between teacher and student and the government trying to force motivation in students can be a hard thing to accomplish.

It also seems as if she is speaking from person experience. Passion about a topic can be a good thing if it is controlled in more of a knowledge seeking way as it seems she is. This Act is impacting her in a personal way and she is giving her opinion about it. She is looking out to the future in more of a wishful manner in our education system. She is opting for better wages for teachers. They are undervalued in her eyes.

This opinion could come from personal experience in the field herself. It seems she know more of the personal effects that this Act has had on teachers. This could mean that she was a teacher or she personally knew a teacher that was impacted by this Act in a negative way.

But she also turns back to the topic of the NCLB Act by accusing it of frustrating teachers by setting different levels for their students' education as well as the pressure it puts on the teachers to reach the goals. Their jobs are literally depending on their students' test scores.

4)

Wong, Alia. "One Step Closer to Life After No Child Left Behind." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 16 July 2015. Web. 29 Aug. 2015. 

Both comments are more credible sources. This post has more to do with the recent changes made to the NCLB Act made by President Obama. The law is making it easier to pass the NCLB and not have schools shut down. This in turn lowers the standard of education as if the NCLB Act was never in place. If the standards are going to continued to be lowered, there is no point to having the higher standards to begin with.

Bdphd references the article and expresses his own views on the topic in a more educational manner but bringing in the effects of the actions presented by the information in the article. Both commenters bring into light the real value the tests provide. Overly motivated teachers can lead to cheating, which makes the tests an unreliable source of information.

There is also the teaching to the tests where the students are not getting as broad of an education. Focusing in on reading and math can mean that other topic such as social studies, or music are not focused in on as much.

But bdphd seems to be more talking in fear of the future in relation to the bill. He claims that is this in between phase of the Act education is reverting back to how it once was and now it seems that states can "water down" the tests they are giving to their students to measure their proficiency.

He also mentions that "we" are making it seem like the pointless tests, as he called them, are the most important thing in the world. I didn't know if he was referring to society in general or actual teachers expressing that emphasis on the test to their students.


The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.   Confucius


Reflection:
In Evan's blog, I learned that emotion is not always a good thing to include in a blog without having enough facts to back up the point of view. Also, I have always been the type of person not to stir up trouble or create arguments, but it made sense that sometimes it is necessary to respond to negative posts so the entire comment thread does not consist of negative statements. For future readers coming into the discussion, a lot of negativity can send across the wrong message in the blog, especially if you know that it has been over dramatized or if you feel the article was correct in what it was portraying.

In Mira's blog, I noticed how important an introduction is for the reader. I have been doing a better job of explain what the blog is going to be about instead of making it more of an "essay" introduction. The blog posts that are shorter and state more opinion oriented statements automatically decrease credibility. It seems it is more done to get attention rather than to actually contribute to the discussion in a meaningful manor. If the commenter first establishes a reference from the article, then expresses their views it seems a lot more understandable to the viewer and more likely to view as credible. It seems they have actually read the article and have actual opinions and views on the issue.

My Controversy

Ponton, Kelsi. "'No Child Left Behind Behind Act' controversy" The Captains Log. N.p., 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Aug. 2015.

Klein, Alyson. "No Child Left Behind Overview: Definitions, Requirements, Criticisms, and More." Education Week. N.p., 10 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Aug. 2015.

Our education system is always shifting and changing based upon what the society needs it to be. In 2001, President George W. Bush put into action the "No Child Left Behind Act" that was intended to better the school systems by making standardized testing mandatory for states. 

This would make each state responsible for their education system. But, even though Congress recently signed off on this bill again (with modifications because of so many schools not meeting their necessary standards), people are still questioning whether or not this act should be in place. When there becomes a test to standardize levels, it influences they way information is taught and can put more emphasis on the actual exam rather than the goal of learning the information and being able to use it for the rest of your life. 

The first article, "'No Child Left Behind Act' Controversy" talks more about the controversy and different points of view on the topic, while the second article, "No Child Left Behind: An Overview" gives more information on the actual Act itself and the changes made to it as of recently. The complete details of the bill are quite extensive, but the Overview allows for a better understanding as to the changes the Act has had over time and the influence it has had on our country's education. 

Obama gave more leniency to schools in order for them to still receive government funding while they continue to work to meet the standards laid out by the bill. These "waivers" have allowed struggling schools "to get out from under many of the mandates of the NCLB law in exchange for embracing certain education redesign priorities" as it was well stated in the Overview. Forty two of our states, including the Dominican Republic and D.C., needed this assistance so schools wouldn't be closed.

Not all students have the same level of dedication to their education, and if they are not motivated to use the resources provided for them, like free tutoring for example, test scores are never going to improve.  But also, not only are the students being evaluated, President Obama has made it a requirement that teachers be evaluated as well. 

But, it is hard to ignore the good that this piece of legislation has provided to the education system. It gives schools a goal to strive for. And what school wouldn't want more government money?

This fascinates me because it gives me more of a political idea as to how public schools are run. I am just coming out of the high school system and when I look back on all my years of schooling, I recall all the standardize testing we had to take. It was by no means enjoyable, but now I see how, even though the tests were not being put in my grades, they were impacting the well being of the school and the staff that runs the school. It makes me think, what would my education have been like if those check points were not in place?

Calendar Reflection

Compo. "Strategic-Planning Cycle" 9/1/2010 via wikimedia. Public Domain Dedication License.

Planning ahead can be a key to great success in anything one pursues.  In order to achieve the goals I have set for myself in English class, I need a plan.

In order to succeed, I need to get my game face on and put in the study and work time necessary to put forth my best work. This involves taking 6 hours out of my week and devoting it to the lovely language that is English.

1) I need to work around the schedule I already have in place.

       This includes work and of course all those other fun classes I take during the day. Breaks are a great time for me to squeeze in some extra homework time (as I am doing now). I can hold off on more of the social stuff later when I am finished with homework for the evening... goals!

2) I can see how my time studying for this class with interact with other class studying.

      Other classes will take work time as well. I have to make sure I plan out my studying so that each classes' homework assignments are done on the days they are due.

3) Finally, I need to space out the time relatively evenly throughout the week.

      I don't want to be doing every English assignment Friday and Saturday evening. If I crunch all my work into Friday and Saturday, I will become very frustrated, and tired. Also, my final outcome might not be at the level it could have been if I had decided to work over more than 2 days.

And it can never hurt to add a couple extra hours onto the mandatory 6, just in case.

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." 

Franklin, Benjamin. "Planning." Proverbia. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2015

While reading through my piers' blog posts, I realize that I am not truly alone in adjusting to a new environment, and schedule. Hallye and I are both struggling to get homework done as well as having a social life and doing more activities that we enjoy. Though walking and riding my bike to my classes has given me the chance to sneak in more activity that I would not have been able to do living at home and having a car to take me different places. It really reminds me how important it is to keep a balanced schedule and not to procrastinate. Procrastinating leads to stress and stress leads to even worse study habits. 

Reading through Chloe's blog post reminded as to why I do not like timed assignments. When there is a time limit put onto an assignment it automatically makes me feel more nervous and anxious about getting an assignment done. This is not just in class assignments or tests, but with homework assignment as well. The closer I am to a deadline the more stressed out I get over assignments. College will definitely be a collection of learning experiences. I will be learning a lot from past mistakes until I can find my footing. 

My Writing Process

Marotta, Giulia. "Unknown" 9/3/2012 via pixabay. Public Domain Dedication License. 

         Each person's style and method of writing are as unique as they are. But generally, there are major categories that writers can be grouped in.

         So, what kind of writer am I you might ask? 
Throughout my studies at the high school level, I never felt I was one that could plan out every inch of my story, or narrative whatever it had to be for the particular assignment, before I started writing it. I was much more of a "Heavy Reviser" than a big time planner. This process usually was the effect of last minute essay writing. Procrastination was a dear friend to me throughout many of my essay projects.

       So then what did this mean for my writing process?
I would often start just typing whatever came to mind. My mentality was, and still sometimes is, "as long as I have a first draft done." This would often lead to extensively long essays that didn't make a lick of sense to anyone but myself. Then there came the revisions. This took a bit more time than it should have.

 I still write in this manner, but tend to start out with more solid ideas of where I intent the piece to go rather than just making it up on the fly. This has significantly helped minimize the number of drafts I need to go through to end up at my finished polished work. But I cannot ignore the fact that often letting my mind wander allows me to come up with ideas I would never have originally thought of.

So I guess my writing is a bit like an unexpected rain fall, that when it leaves, there are a lot of flooded streets with a lot to clean up.

    There are always benefits and drawbacks to every game plan.
This process does allow me to come up with some great new ideas and allows me to make connections that I would not have originally thought of. But it sometimes does become more of a lengthier process and when it comes to crunch time, can become quite a burden.

Also, reviewing my work can be strenuous since I am never the one to want to delete information. Without the aid of a classmate or helpful parent, I often hit a wall with what I am willing to edit in the paper. This become extremely frustrating for essay with word limits, such as college application letters.

    Change is not always a bad thing...
My writing can always use work and change since it is never going to be 100% perfect. It makes you think if there is such a thing as a perfect paper, story, essay or any other piece of writing. Different opinions are what make us all so unique and what make writing so interesting.

I can work on more time management in my essay writing. Time management has been a bit of struggle for me since I want to put a lot of time and effort into every activity I do.With all the other school events, classes, and my extracurriculars, the time adds up.

Working on assignments as soon as they are handed out is also a goal that I have given myself for college. So far I have been doing better with that goal, but I continually have to stay motivated to get projects done.




Reflection 
"My Writing Process"
Reading through other people's systems makes me feel less guilty about my procrastination habits. It seems that it is a pretty common struggle that occurs amongst high schoolers. Throughout my senior year of high school I have been hearing how college is so much harder than high school. I know that everyone has had different schooling experiences in high school, but this has honestly scared me for this up coming year. Knowing that I am not the only one going through this hard change and facing the same challenges makes me feel like college is something that I can accomplish, and even excel in.
Starting in a new environment, with new teachers, and new classmates will hopefully help motivate me into making new study and work habits. Now study groups are becoming more of a possibility, especially since I am living with other students who are going through the same struggles that I am (i.e. chemistry).
Reading Evan's evaluation on his writing process reminded me too much of my own. When I read someone else's version of what I am doing, it makes me question my sanity. Obviously doing all the work at the last minute cannot be smart or efficient but yet I continue to do it anyway. This post, once again made me realize how I need to change my studying and working habits.

My procrastination is something that I can transition out of just like the rest of my high school schedule and life.