My Blog

The Architect Scene

2006-12-18T21:47:00.001-05:00

Josh Schiefer
Cynthia Spires
English 3010
December 19, 2006
Efficiency is the Key
There are many implications in creating an efficient society capable of self-preservation. It is evident in the film The Matrix Reloaded, when the Architect explains to Neo the meaning of his existence, that the Architect is trying to create such a society. Similarly to this society is that which is seen in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The director of a societal creating facility, Mr. Foster, explains to his students the intricate process that such a society can exist. When the Architect and Mr. Foster play these “God” like creators, there are certainly moral dilemmas which arise. It is the obligation of the inquisitive to challenge these moral dilemmas when the right to choose ones own destiny is compromised.
Most present societies focus their existence around attaining the ideal living environment for the majority, even if immoral values are involved. The Architect, as the name implies, is responsible for the social order for all humankind in the Matrix. Through persistence, he explains to Neo the balance that is needed for a proper society, “harmony of mathematical precision….to imitate your varying grotesquery‘s of your nature” (The Matrix Reloaded). Neo is aware of the issue, which is that people do not govern themselves and do not have free will, only the illusion of choice, if the Architect is merely “imitating” their nature. Therefore Neo does not comply with the Architects wishes to destroy Zion in order to keep this perfect ‘balance’.
The balance that the Architect refers to is the basis of the entire movie. Every person and every program is designed to maintain this balance. For every cause there is an effect, and that is what drives the Matrix in balancing the equation. Neo is the only one truly capable of making choices throughout the trilogy which will ultimately lead to the survival of Zion.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a society governed in the same way as the Architect’s design. There may appear to be some choices, but the answers are pre-determined without the individual knowing differently. Mr. Foster realizes the imperfections needed in society, so he conveniently applies these to the equation, “Not philosopher, but fretsawyers and stamp collectors compose the backbone of society” (Brave New World 8). Mr. Foster has a wide array of people in his society which are utilized to fit into the balance.
If King were to see the society in Brave New World, he would undoubtedly rise against Mr. Foster, assuming his mind was not altered, because of his strong civil rights beliefs; “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its unjustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” (King 180). Similarly to Neo, King is an inquisitive mind that sees the immoral values used to create a “profound” society
Although a well balanced equation to form a “perfect” society may seem ideal, it lacks choice and free will of the individual. Without choice, humanity suffers pre-destined fate which is immoral if this pre-destination was not the choice of the individual. Throughout the matrix Trilogy, Neo is considered “the one” because he is the only person that is capable of making choices for himself. Unlike others before him, he does not fit into the equation of the architect and because of this he is able to save the last city on earth, Zion.

Works Cited
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World, New York: Harper and Row, 1989
King Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Jacobus, Lee, ed. A World of Ideas. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006
The Matrix. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne: Warner Bros, 1999.

The Architect Scene

2006-12-18T21:47:00.000-05:00

Josh Schiefer
Cynthia Spires
English 3010
December 19, 2006
Efficiency is the Key
There are many implications in creating an efficient society capable of self-preservation. It is evident in the film The Matrix Reloaded, when the Architect explains to Neo the meaning of his existence, that the Architect is trying to create such a society. Similarly to this society is that which is seen in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. The director of a societal creating facility, Mr. Foster, explains to his students the intricate process that such a society can exist. When the Architect and Mr. Foster play these “God” like creators, there are certainly moral dilemmas which arise. It is the obligation of the inquisitive to challenge these moral dilemmas when the right to choose ones own destiny is compromised.
Most present societies focus their existence around attaining the ideal living environment for the majority, even if immoral values are involved. The Architect, as the name implies, is responsible for the social order for all humankind in the Matrix. Through persistence, he explains to Neo the balance that is needed for a proper society, “harmony of mathematical precision….to imitate your varying grotesquery‘s of your nature” (The Matrix Reloaded). Neo is aware of the issue, which is that people do not govern themselves and do not have free will, only the illusion of choice, if the Architect is merely “imitating” their nature. Therefore Neo does no comply with the Architects wishes to destroy Zion in order to keep this perfect ‘balance’.
The balance that the Architect refers to is the basis of the entire movie. Every person and every program is designed to maintain this balance. For every cause there is an effect, and that is what drives the Matrix in balancing the equation. Neo is the only one truly capable of making choices throughout the trilogy which will ultimately lead to the survival of Zion.
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a society governed in the same way as the Architect’s design. There may appear to be some choices, but the answers are pre-determined without the individual knowing differently. Mr. Foster realizes the imperfections needed in society, so he conveniently applies these to the equation, “Not philosopher, but fretsawyers and stamp collectors compose the backbone of society” (Brave New World 8). Mr. Foster has a wide array of people in his society which are utilized to fit into the balance.
If King were to see the society in Brave New World, he would undoubtedly rise against Mr. Foster, assuming his mind was not altered, because of his strong civil rights beliefs; “I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its unjustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” (King 180). Similarly to Neo, King is an inquisitive mind that sees the immoral values used to create a “profound” society
Although a well balanced equation to form a “perfect” society may seem ideal, it lacks choice and free will of the individual. Without choice, humanity suffers pre-destined fate which is immoral if this pre-destination was not the choice of the individual. Throughout the matrix Trilogy, Neo is considered “the one” because he is the only person that is capable of making choices for himself. Unlike others before him, he does not fit into the equation of the architect and because of this he is able to save the last city on earth, Zion.

Works Cited
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World, New York: Harper and Row, 1989
King Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Jacobus, Lee, ed. A World of Ideas. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006
The Matrix. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne: Warner Bros, 1999.

Tutoring - December 5

2006-12-05T11:28:00.000-05:00

Today we had a scheduled tutee and yet again they decided not to show up. Instead I read an article online about peer editing considering that I spent this tutoring sessions peer editing Lisa's paper. The biggest thing it says to look for is a clear and concise thesis statement. Another thing to look for in the introduction are clues that help the reader figure out what the essay is going to be about. Next when looking at the content, make sure that there isn't a lot of summary, there should only be support for the thesis while using direct quotes. When integrating sources into the paper, it should only enforce and not "weigh" it down. This website did something different than any other I've seen as well. It gave exact structure on how to mark essays, ie. [] around sentences that should be combined, ( ) around sentences that sound awkward etc...

Dawson, Melanie, Peer Editing Guide. December 5, 2006; <http://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/peeredit.html>

Tutoring - November 28

2006-12-04T17:55:00.000-05:00

Once again we had a tutee scheduled and once again, they decided not to show up. Instead I read an article on the internet called "Building successful tutor-student relationships" that was actually pretty good. It was directed more towards a long-term relationship where certain increments of improvement are focused on every meeting, but it had good tips in it. The obvious about being prompt, and making the tutee feel comfortable were at the forefront, and than it goes on to talk about little tips for effective listening. While listening, try to empathize with the student by putting yourself in there position and trying to figure out what you would want from the meeting. The article also talked about confidentiality because these students are trusting with us with their problems as the tutor gets them to open up. Also this article states that a key part of tutoring is patience. If the we get frustrated with a problem, or maybe complain about the assignment they're given, than they will think this type of attitude is acceptable and possibly give up on the paper. This is the last thing a tutor wants.

This page is actually out of a text book
The Service-Learning Student Handbook . Provo, Utah: Jacobsen Center for Service and Learning at Bringham Young University, 2000.
found at : http://nationalserviceresources.org/epicenter/practices/index.php?ep_action=view&ep_id=827

The Matrix

2006-11-27T21:04:00.000-05:00

I have seen the Matrix before, but after the readings, it seemed to have a lot more meaning when I watched it today in class. It pertained to almost every reading we have don. The most prominent that I seen at the end of the clip today was Frederick Douglass as well as Virginia Woolf's portrayal of Shakespeare's sister. Both of these people had attained knowledge which allowed them to see the truth just as Neo seen the truth with the red pill. After taking that red pill (attaining that knowledge) there was no turning back. Similarily to Douglass, Neo wanted to be ignorant again becuase he can see the flaws in humanity and has become very unhappy.
As for the plot of the movie, it is very similar to Brave New World and Orwell's 1984. The working class are too busy with their meaningless lives to realize they are pawns in a chest game, a mere resource for another. The matrix uses people as energy, 1984 uses people for power and Brave New World I guess for sufficiency and order. It is somewhat similar to Arrhendt's total domination in the sense that people are not in control of their own destiny because they do not know what is real. However, I don't think the people in the matrix are full of fear, reduced to a set of reactions, because some of them still seem to be leading a happy life.
This brings me to another story we read about Plato's Allegory of the Cave where everyone was chained to the wall. Morpheus was able to free Neo from the wall and show him the real world, away from the fictitious cave which was once thought of as reality.

Thanksgiving blog

2006-11-27T20:48:00.000-05:00

During the break, I read an article from the purdue library about APA citation because this was brought up a few weeks ago during a tutoring session. This type of format is used mostly to site sources within the social sciences. The citation page consists of the same type of information as MLA, but in different order basically. The date coming right after the auther, and than the article, than the book, place of publication and finally the publisher. There are no italics used in this format either when referring to journal articles or essays in a collection. APA also uses a title page as oppose to MLA where the name, teachers name, date and course are found on the top left corner of the report. As for in-text citations, the authors last name, year of publication and page number must appear either before the quotations or after as oppose to the authors last name and page number in MLA format. APA format may also use footnotes or endnotes where notations 1,2,3 etc... are used to direct readers to the source.

Eliot, Yeats and Woolf

2006-11-20T07:28:00.000-05:00

Virginia Woolf was a woman frustrated with history as well as the present about women figures and the roles of women. Very seldom had a woman made her way into text books which made it hard to imagine the life of a woman from the 17th century. When Woolf imagines herself as a talented sister of William Shakespeare she gets pretty angry. She realizes that her talents or desire to be great could never be fulfilled because society would not allow it and she would undoubtedly become miserable. This reminded me a lot of Douglass, because he too was ahead of his time and was able to realize the hardships and inequalities in society which made him furious. Both writers yearn for equality and are not willing to stand idely by anymore without a voice. It is evident that Woolf still has little authority when she writes about women's rights because although she is outraged, she must remain mundane on paper so that it would be read and taken serious by others.
T.S. Eliot's writing about the tradition and individual talents goes on to talk about what art is and how it is formed. He talks about the influence of former artists or poets on the current. Even if a piece of art is "completely new" it is still a conformity of the past, because the past is a part of us and has made us who we are today. Art is constantly changing, but what makes art remains more or less the same. An artist must also be well balanced and have had a lot of experiences in their life to write something insightful. Even if that art is not personal, which Eliot proposes it shouldn't be, but instead being an escape from personality. This writing kind of reminded me of Darwin in Evolution, on how every generation is a slight conformity of its former self, and is still considered to be of that particular species.
William Butler Yeats wrote a short poem here which seems to be about a person's search for their spiritual life. Looking up Byzantium, I found that it was an ancienty city from the 6th century that was the capital of the Eastern Empire and centre of art and architecture. The poem talks about how lively it is there and how the youthful are interacting and nature is blossoming. Than it says this is no place for the old, perhaps because if the older people went there it would no longer be such a lively place. Byzantium seems to be used as a metaphor in this poem where a person is searching for themselves, maybe something that is lacking in their life.

Douglas - From the Narrative

2006-11-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

Frederick Douglas lived as an American slave during the 19th century. Unlike most slaves, he was able to read and write thanks to his master's wife teaching him his ABC's. While reading the passage, I was pretty surprised how good he was able to write considering the methods he used to become literate. As time went on and he back smarter and smarter, he grew more and more anxious because he had realized the major faults of society and he could understand how morally wrong slavery was. To him, ignorance seemed bliss at times becuase he wouldn't have to be constantly thinking about how bad his life truly is. This reminded me of Plato's Allegory of the Cave, where everyone is chained to the walls, unable to escape, not knowing there was an outside world. Douglas was still chained to the walls, but unlike everyone else, he knew that there was a world outside of the cave, a much better life.

tutoring - Nov. 14

2006-11-14T11:35:00.000-05:00

Today we had a girl from a speech class that needed help with her outline. We were both unfamiliar with the type of paper she was writing, so we had to read the outline she was given in class to understand what she was even doing. It was a persuasion speech that was due tomorrow, and she had NO real information on it yet. We gave her a few ideas, showed her how to graph using excel, she said she needed graphs, and also gave her a paper on MLA format because she was unsure how to do that as well. It's kind of frustrating when we get students like this with no intial material to work with. I think she wanted us to help her write the paper or something, but we told her we can only guide her on what she's doing.

Future of Food (film)

2006-11-13T23:07:00.000-05:00

The film viewed today in class had many controversial moral and legal issues behind it. I had a serious problem with the farmer, Perry Schmeiser, and his case. First off the fact that seeds are being patented is ridiculous in my opinion. A company can't expect to control a product, set it into the wild where it is allowed to spread and expect all of its offspring to be patented as well. As we seen in the film, the seeds will spread via natural means or unnaturally, especially small wheat seeds. The company very well could have planted their seeds into Schmeiser as well as other farmers fields just to file lawsuits afterwards. The fact that the Supreme Court of Canada sided with Monstanto is very frustrating and kind of scary. The government is suppose to be in place to serve the people as Jefferson or Rousseau would say, but in this case, they have gone against the innocent farmer just trying to make a living and feed the population. It is the right of this farmer in my opinion to not follow these laws because they are unjust. He could stand up like Luther did with unjust laws towards him and the African American community.
As for biotechnology, I am all for genetically modified organisms, but I also think it is neccessary to put labels on GMO's to be sold in stores. GMO's have allowed prices to remain lower and food to be abundant as well as more variety. The current population which most farms feed today cannot afford to have an off season like they did maybe 100 years ago when people managed to struggle through the year. There are too many mouths to feed and the living standards, especially of North Americans, have grown too high. Due to possible side effects, GMO's should definately have labels though to prevent people from having repeatedly, unknown causes for allergic reactions like the woman in the film. As the population, especially those of 3rd world countries continues to increase, I think GMO's will have an even bigger role to play on the world stage.

How Films Mean

2006-11-08T07:57:00.000-05:00

This reading goes through the meanings of films as well as the evolution of movies over time. For the majority, movies use to have more complex significance and meaning which could be interpreted by the enlightened. Directors now are more focused on a simpler plot which explains everything so that the viewer can follow along. When I think about it, this is very true in the movies I watch which are usually comedies with no real thought put into them, instead a bunch of quick antics that make me laugh. The movies with meaning must have an audience to understand and appreciate the meanings for them to be relevant. However, I think directors are more concerned with making money with a movie for the majority than creating an intricate masterpiece for a select few to grasp. Nichols refers to this as the revolt against master narratives. With narrative films we have today, it is easy to see the relevance of the movie and of why things happen when you stop and think about a film afterwards as oppose to a silent film perhaps from 50 years ago.

Tutoring - November 7

2006-11-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

There were no tutees lined up for us today so I read a website about tutoring called "How to be a good tutor". This website outlined the same aspects that we went over in class from our own tutoring handbook. The three main issues were correcting errors, praisal and discussion. In correcting errors, try not to point out directly what the errors are, but maybe hint that there are errors and allow the student to find and correct it themselves. It is through this method that people become better writers. In praising, the website stated that most tutors critisize a lot more than they praise which may result in a negative impact. If the tutee feels as if they are being lectured, than they will stop listening and the session will be a waste. Finally the tutor should go over the entire essay as a review and discuss (sum up) what we have gone through throughout the session. This allows the tutor to reinforce the important aspects that need special attention. Basically this website went through the tutoring guide, we went through in class, very briefly breaking it up into the three categories listed above. Not too much new information was attained from this website.

Orwell's 1984

2006-11-06T07:58:00.000-05:00

These final chapters of 1984 show the will of Winston finally breaking. O'brien is able to torture Winston in such a way that there is nothing left but a set of reactions. This is the same type of treatment seen in Arendt's "Total Domination". O'brien states, "Power is in inflicting pain and humiliation. Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing." Winston even betrayed the woman he loved, Julia, in wishing it was her being tortured instead of him which showed that O'brien did in fact have control over Winston's mind. In the end, the Brotherhood was triumphant over free will and we learned the real modivation behind the party. It was not to have power over the majority to rule because the majority couldn't rule itself, but power itself. Power was not the means, it was the end, the final goal for the Brotherhood.
I was a bit confused in the end of this reading though. First off, they spent so much time brainwashing Winston when they could have easily killed him because like they said, he was the last real human alive with a will of his own. After months or years of torture, when Winston had become completely brainwashed, they let him out into society again only to kill him later on. Perhaps I missed something and they kill everyone when they get old.

Lao-Tzu and Thoreau

2006-11-01T07:53:00.000-05:00

Lao-Tzu writes about the government system and the way that life should be which is very simple in his mind. According to him, people should strive for nothing and by doing so will have everything. I don't agree with this point though because it goes against human nature. It is our nature to have possessions and strive to the top to help fulfill our final goal of happiness that Socrates speaks about. I do agree with Lao-Tzu on other issues though about being peaceful because it will bring on more peace. Like he says, for every force, there is a counterforce, so by fighting with other people, wars will never end and hate will always remain. As for running government the way he suggests, I doubt that it will work for the people. To stay out of their lives, and not have laws and religion and morality, I don't believe it will keep people honest. Being trustful may make some people more trustworthy, but I don't think it will work for the masses because human nature says that there have to be temptations and some people that will fall into these temptations.
Thoreau has the same idea of law as Lao-Tzu did where a persons conscience is used in place of the law. Once again, I don't think this concept is realistic. I do agree with Thoreau when he talks about unjusts laws in that if they are unjust, you shouldn't have to obey them even if that makes you a minority, you'll be a wise minority. This reminded me of Winston from 1984, when he was the extreme minority but he was still right. Thoreau goes on to talk about doing things without benefitting yourself because by doing so you'll have a better reward and in turn will benefit yourself. He even says that the next step after democracy would be to have no government and govern ourselves, looking out for your fellow neighbours. This is a nice idea which may have worked when life was more simple and people were content to live on their farms and work all day, but I don't think it is practical for today's material world.

Tutoring - Oct. 31

2006-10-31T11:28:00.000-05:00

We finally had a real english 1020 student today with a rough draft, that she wanted Lisa and I to look over. Her paper was about how Hollywood depicts the African American people in movies; she used the movie "Boyz in the Hood". Her introduction seemed like it talked about her the outline of the paper, her second paragraph was a summary of the movie and her other paragraphs were very short summaries and points. Despite a rocky paper, her conclusion was still quite strong. As she read through the paper, Lisa and I would stop her after 1 or 2 paragraphs and reflect how it was going. Overall, we suggesting rearranging about 80% of her paper. We told her to put the movie she was talking about into the introduction as well as a quick hint of what she's going to talk about in her paper. It was going to be really hard to go into depth with anything because her paper was only three pages long. She analyzed only one point in the movie, and didn't really show the connection of the point she was trying to prove. We suggested that she add in atleast one other part of the movie and get rid of a lot of the summaries she had put into the paper. Overall, I think she understood what we were trying to do and she will be able to fix her paper in the areas that we suggested because she did have some good information, it just needed organization.

Jefferson

2006-10-30T01:01:00.000-05:00

Jefferson was responsible for writing the Declaration of Independence for the freedom of the United States from the tyrranical King George. Jefferson shared many of the same views as Jean Jacques Rousseau which was that the government is in place for the goverened. When it becomes in the best interest of the goverened to become independent they should do so, and create their own government which better suits them. Jefferson realized that the King was not concerned with the natural rights of the U.S. which are life, libery and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson also reiterates the word He in an emphasized manner throughout the Declaration which is referring more specifically to white male land owners that not longer wanted to be controled by Great Britain. Jefferson keeps some of the Declaration very broad to assure the reader that this concept of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness can be used in more instances than just this, and it would be a way of life for the American people.

Stanton and King

2006-10-30T00:30:00.000-05:00

Stanton was a very well educated women from the 19th century that helped influence women suffrage. She reiterated the Declaration of Independence in the place of Jefferson and it was men who were the evil tyrants instead of the King George. Where Jefferson repeated and emphasized the word He, Stanton uses the word Resolved which is referring to the resolution of the Declaration. Stanton realized the importance and impact of the Declaration of Independence, so she chooses to keep her structure and words almost identical to emphasize how women also deserve a better life. It is there right as a Human Being to be equal to men, just as it is a Man's right to separate from government in search of Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most profound leader of the Civil Rights Movement. King wanted nothing more than to have equal rights as the white man. King states in his letter from Birmingham Jail how black slaves were a big part in creating the United States, and how they were there when the Declaration of Independence was signed which entitles them to the same rights as everyone else. They have suffered for 100's of years, working for free under inhumane conditions, and it is time that people recognize this and allow the black man to become equal in society. King also used a very tactical method in conveying his message which was in a non-violent manner. He says, "I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek". If King were to be radical he knew that nobody would take him serious, it would only cause more hate and fear in the white race which would only hurt his cause. Even after being locked up in jail he is overly nice and understanding, saying that he hopes he doesn't say anything false or unjust and if he does he apologizes. It is this type of attitude which would allow the civil rights movement to proceed.

Tutoring- a no show

2006-10-24T11:41:00.000-04:00

Lisa and I finally had a tutee scheduled for us today from English 1010 but they decided not to show up. Instead I was able to read a chapter from The Concice Wadsworth Handbook about writing a rough draft and revisions of that draft. I thought it was applicable to me because I will have a paper coming back to me that I will be able to revise. In revising, the book states that it is ok to change entire ideas or add new material in. Many students might feel hestitant about a big change because it involves tampering with their original, which they may have spent a great deal of time on. Revising may also include peer review because they are able to look at your paper from a different point of view that could prove to be useful.

1984 and Total Domination

2006-10-22T14:28:00.000-04:00

George Orwell's 1984 is an unrealistic depiction of a time when the heirarchial system is set at a stand still. The higher powers are able to permanently suppress the "proles" (lower class) by keeping a constant watch on them making sure that they remain ignorant. The Proles are to concerned with their daily lives for the most part to think about the everlasting war which in turn gives "Big Brother" it's power. According to this book though, everything that we know to be true up to WWII happened in their history as well which means the industrial revolution and scientific revolution have already occurred. The inner society was able to make people forget about history and become robot-like; following everything theyare told unimpeded. This book, although unrealistic, has extremely valid points about history though. Most of which referred back to the Catholic Church and how they prey on the weak and ignorant while shunning the intellects. The masses must have collective ideals and individual thought must be abolished in order to maintain power.
Total Domination is very similar to 1984 in it's totalitarian government which has happened throughout history. This is where the government controls EVERY aspect of life. The most recognizable being of course the Holocaust where the concentration camp was an institution not established for the sake of any possible labor yield, but from the economic point of view the, exist mostly for it's own sake (pg 95). This is very similar to the everlasting war in 1984. Murder in either case is not looked at as immoral, it is simply an obligation that is done without thought. In a sense, Hitler was able to form a type of 1984 institution where propaganda was used excessively to brainwash his soldiers. Supposedly if he had the same means as "Big Brother" which was able to keep a watchful eye over every aspect of life he would of been even more destructive.

Adam Smith

2006-10-18T20:24:00.000-04:00

Adam Smith could be considered a communist of his time. He considered the same type of hegemony as a capitalist society though where land and agriculture are the main capital. There must be a lot of farmers in order to feed the country, and than the next step on the ladder would be trade and than finally foreign trade which is the ultimate goal when a man can make fortunes. He believed that the country came first though, and that trade should be completed within the region between food and luxuries. He also considered land as the ultimate form of capital. Unlike other assets like gold or silver, land cannot be spent by merchants or smuggled out of the country. Instead it is fixed capital that will remain where it is and allow a person to grow food for survival. This is different today because most people in developed countries don't look at food as such a sparce commodity becuase it is so readily available. People today are more concerned with luxurious goods.

Tutoring (Oct. 17)

2006-10-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

Well the student scheduled for our tutoring session was yet again not an english 1010 or 1020 student. Unlike last time though, when we were still able to help, this was a question about APA formatting on a paper for a class I'd never even heard of before. Needless to say, she had to reschedule for a new appointment.
I chose to read a chapter from Peer Tutoring, a book from the writing center, which was pretty good. This book went over the same concepts that we read in class with emphasis on a few different things. The first emphasized point was really getting to know the student. It is creating this relationship that will allow for a smooth flowing tutor session. The book states that if the writer does not feel comfortable around us, than they will no open up and little will be accomplished. The second point focused in on, was the fact that the writer is the expert and we do not have to be. The writer should already possess all the knowledge needed to write a good paper, while the tutor is there to fit their ideas nicely into an essay by suggesting formats and asking good questions.

Marx: The Communist Manifesto

2006-10-15T22:02:00.000-04:00

Marx is a communist that believes that this type of government can rule supreme, given that people follow strict guidelines. Communism is basically an equal society where the countries capital is spread evenly, for the most part, to all of its inhabitants. This goes completely againt human nature though in my opinion. It is striving to become excellent in life that allows people to accomplish goals and become successful. Who is going to strive to the best of their abilities if there is no reward that follows. A doctor should not have the same lifestyles as someone whose job is not nearly demanding. Marx also goes on to talk about capitalism and how it has destroyed national and regional districts. I think that these districts are worth compromising in a world where people can move up in society. In Marx defense however, these districts were very important in his times when nationalism ran wild. However, it is more important now that we have strong ties with other countries for trading purposes. It is the driving force in our new globalized world where capitalism rules.

Murdoch and Nietzsche

2006-10-10T21:31:00.000-04:00

Murdoch explores the connection between morality and religion. She wonders if morality can even exist without religion and reasserts this by saying that religion is assumed to be moral. I think she's trying to say that religion holds our moral values to be true, because without religion, why would one be moral. There would be no higher power and afterlife with consequences from this lifetime.
Than her ideas become very similiar to those in Allegory of the Cave when she talks about children becoming religious. Would it be right for parents to push their kids into religion with its superstitious convictions that the parents know to be false. Just as Plato's essay, they would be left in the dark away from truth until one day they too see the light. By keeping them in the dark, it could possibly force them to become moral beings, fearful of God.
Nietzsche is a philosopher that hates religion for many reasons. The biggest reason being that in the beginning church fought against the intelligent (and did so until the 20th Century) in favor of the poor in spirit. Many church's became corrupt over the years which denied scientific facts, and incorporated unjust rules onto its followers only to benefit itself. Nietzsche also came to the same conclusions about instinct that Jung and Freud did. We have these inner conscious thoughts, but religion condemns these instincts by deeming them immoral. It is religion which is suppose toteach us morals, but by having these morals, it is against nature's will. All religions do is state what you can and cannot do and if you abide by these rules, you will be happy. I think Nietzsche feels that people would be happier if they were allowed to follow their own natural instincts. This is a problem for me though, because without religion, almost scaring people into becoming moral beings, the world would be a very chaotic place. There would be no boundaries to bind people from unjust acts because there is no aferlife consequences or Pearly White Gates when you die.

First tutoring experience

2006-10-10T11:25:00.000-04:00

The student Lisa and I worked with came into the writing center with a five page essay that she wanted us to look at. The essay seemed to be pretty good but there were some minor problems with the introduction and conclusion. The introduction was very lengthy and not completely in order, so we helped her to fit the paragraph together better. The conclusion also needed some work, because she did not restate her thesis or really talk about her body paragraphs which made her conclusion very weak. Other than that, there wasn't much we could do because her paper was due in a couple hours, so we only had time to address those major problems so she would have time to fix it.

Jung and Aristotle

2006-10-08T23:31:00.000-04:00

Jung, being a follower of Freud often refers to Freud's works and findings. Jung talks about the unconscious mind and how it is the inner thoughts of mankind. These primitive thoughts however are repressed by mankind because society labels these as taboo in many cases. This pertains to the patient who is in love with her doctor, seen as a father figure, in Jung's essay. It is only in the unconscious, or dream state, that these thoughts reveal itself to a person who might not of thought about it before. These dreams are based on things which happen in real life, but the outcome in these dreams give us the insight of the human psyche repressed in the subconscious.
Aristotle talks about the aim of man being happiness, which he believes is the ultimate goal in life. He reveals the way mankind pursues this goal in his essay. In order to achieve happiness, a man must be virtuous, noble and possess goods. These goods include external goods, goods of the body, and the most important, good of the soul. To obtain this virtuous and good status though, you must recognize that you are being virtuous or possessing these goods because if you do not know this, you do not possess the noblest of all virtues...Knowledge. Aristotle goes on to talk about being happy and what makes a person happy. An ill person sees happiness as being healthy, the poor wealthy etc... So what Aristotle is saying is that there is no final happiness. No matter what you have, there is always something more to strive for in getting this "happiness" which means that there is no reaching this final aim of man. There are times in your life when you can have moments of happiness, but no one will be satisfied indefinitely with this happiness. So it is only in constantly trying to become happy, that a person can have these happy moments and in the end, hopefully say that they were able to have a good fulfilling life.

Tutor Observation

2006-10-04T19:49:00.000-04:00

My first tutoring experience was relatively short and not very informative. The girl had a paper outline due the next day but had no research on the project. She only picked the topic because it had to do with African American's. The tutor basically told her what an outline was and that she couldn't really do much more. The student seemed frustrated that she was not getting more help, but without knowledge of the subject, the tutor had nothing to work with. Hopefully my next experience will be a little more involved.

Brave New World

2006-10-03T21:25:00.000-04:00

Aldous Huxley's portrayal of the future seemed pretty farfetched while reading his story. However, he brought up some interesting points in his "forward" piece. Our technology continues to grow which is good in the sense of medicines, cures, convenience etc... But it is also comes with a lot of responsibility. The world we live in today is easily capable of destroying itself if a major war broke out. This totalitarian government he speaks of could, although highly unlikely, form some type of system seen in the Brave New World to prevent this type of thing from happening. He's implying that the only way to stop ourselves from destroying everything is to basically take away free will and chance because these are the downfall of humans. You are simply born as a mindless grunt worker, or as an enlightened "alpha" programmed to become knowledgeable in the sciences. Every aspect of your life is planned out while you are an infant or even before than. The Director, where these specimen's are grown, says that because of this type of brainwashing, people will be happy doing what they do. In my opinion though, this takes away the point of living because your entire world is mapped out for you before you are born. Perhaps this is why Huxley suggests a third alternative that he wishes he would have included in his original story, where there are some free rebels capable of their own free will while being exiled from the rest of society. I would much rather be one of these rebels living outside of society than living in this falsified utopia created from birth.

Darwin and Gould

2006-10-01T23:42:00.000-04:00

Darwin is famous for his discoveries and thoughts on evolution for all living things. This upsets many religious believers because it denotes a lot of their faith and values that they hold true. At close examination though, it is hard to deny what Darwin has set forth. Species will evolve to better suit their environments because the strong will survive and the weak will parish. It is some attribute which make a being strong or more advantageous that make evolution possible. It is no wonder that these traits will continue on because these particular species are the ones which will be able to procreate successfully allowing their offspring to also flourish in nature. This describes many phenomena's in nature which include the unique survival tactics of every species. This also explains why species from the same origin have different physical attributes in different parts of the world today, because they had to adjust to their surrounding environment. It is for this reason that I think human evolution will dramatically slow down due to technological advances. No longer do people have to adapt to their environments because they are more or less the same all over the world.
Gould brings up a more ethical question about morality and if their really is such a thing in nature. Why would God allow nature to become so cruel as in the case with the ichneumon fly which pass their larval life as parasites. One explanation given was that nature needs checks and balances, and that is what the fly was for. The more plausible explanation in my opinion, which is also stated, is that things in nature just are. They don't have to be there for a reason, but it is the way evolution has occurred which allows for some sort of balance in nature for all things to coexist. I do believe their is a higher power which assists in this type of procedure, but nature has allowed humans to become knowledgeable. With this knowledge, the concept of morality was born as a human tool, which only we could be capable of having because we have the brain capacity to do so. Since morality is a man made concept, nature does not have to abide by any of the rules which come along with it.

Bacon and Plato

2006-09-28T21:44:00.000-04:00

Francis Bacon seen a scientific flaw in his time period which in short was; people gave too much credit to the unknown/mysticism. People of his time did not understand why many things worked the way they did, so it was left that nature is this grand thing that works in unexplainable intricate ways. If a scientist observes something happening in a particular way, than he could come to some rational reasoning, using his own beliefs and experiences, for that or it would be because of God and his will. Bacon does not believe that peoples belief in God should have anything to do with the scientific world, but instead science should be used to explain nature. In his time period, many people didn't question "why" because they thought it was because God made it that way. However today, scientists do not accept that, they realize their is a reason for things and science can explain what or why that reason is.
Plato is a much older philosopher and a bit harder to understand in his allegory. I believe he is referring to how we perceive different things, as Bacon did. Plato is using the shadows as these "things" that we see and are therefore real. However we must realize that there is something that cast these shadows, the underlying meaning or cause for the superficial which we are subjected to. Plato actually refers to the cave as a prison which I interpreted as ignorance, and with the light casting the shadows as the truth. You must look past your sight in order to understand and see the truth behind it.

De Montaigne and John Dewey

2006-09-28T21:28:00.000-04:00

In reading "Of the Education of Children" and "Thinking in Education", I found it somewhat difficult to understand everything that these essays were saying but the main points were clear. Montaigne stresses the importance of teaching children and allowing them to learn from our, the teachers, experiences however they must also have experiences of their own to really learn... It is not enough to memorize somthing and to know that it is true, but rather you must understand why it's true. It is that reason that Montaigne stresses that the student move far from home and experience life, "Let him live beneath the open sky And Dangerously" (Horace). Parents are mere drawbacks in his opinion. Dewey has a very similar view, that experience must be gained before thought, to fully understand things. Then, what is learned in the classroom is a necessity for the thought process about your experience. It is these two elements that must work together to form a fully knowledgable student.

Chapter 6 and 8

2006-09-21T23:15:00.000-04:00

These closing chapters in the Bedford Writing Guide do not introduce a lot of new concepts. Chapter 6 has a few useful websites and facts about websites, including their reliability. Since we will not be tutoring online however, a lot of the concepts in this chapter do not apply to us. Chapter 8 was a lot of review about tutoring; be polite, patient and remind writers that we are there to tutor and not edit papers. The Do's and Don't for different tutoring situations are mostly common sense that we should know by now.

Chapter 7: Helping Writers across the Curriculum

2006-09-19T23:00:00.000-04:00

Chapter seven has a more in depth approach on how to tutor, complete with checklists for a variety of papers. Many of these papers are not applicable to our class, such as the lab reports, because we are only dealing with english 1010 and 1020. Based on my ENG 1020 experience, some of these checklists may prove very useful, because we dealt a lot with book/ film reviews and argument/position papers. Since we have all dealt with these thoroughly, we should already have a basic understanding of what the teacher may be looking for but these checklists will still strengthen our ability to tutor.

Ch. 5 The Writers You Tutor

2006-09-17T12:45:00.000-04:00

This chapter focused on the tutor adapting to the writer and being sensitive to the individuals needs. This is a major concern for me because I do not want to offend anyone that may have a learning disability or other personal reasons for having trouble writing a paper. Chapter five explains how to address the most common problems; writing anxiety, english as a second language and learning disabilities. Writing anxiety is something that I am more comfortable helping because I can sympathize being in that position. As for the other two main cases, it will take a lot of patience and understanding to help them through the writing process. Luckily chapter five goes over some key things to remember when dealing with these types of situations.

Ch 4 - Helping Writers Throughout the Writing Process

2006-09-14T22:28:00.000-04:00

Chapter four targets writers that need help starting their paper. Many suggestions were made on where to begin such as the workspace/environment to start the paper, as well as creating a web diagram to spawn sub topics. Other writing plans included a rough idea, researching and making crude body paragraphs. For longer papers, this chapter suggests making goals for yourself and being rewarded for meeting your own deadlines. This will all be useful information for the overwhelmed students that need help getting started. This chapter is also equipped with a list of sources to reference if we do not know the answer which is quite reassuring because their is still a lot about writing that I do not know.

Ch. 3 - The Tutoring Session

2006-09-12T21:36:00.000-04:00

I found chapter three to be very helpful and insightful in becoming a tutor. This chapter seemed to focus on what to do in different scenarios, many of which were mentioned in the previous chapters. I especially liked some of the tips it gave such as how to wrap up on time, or the waiting period for the writer to come up with their own ideas. The tutoring exercises should come in handy as well, which dealt with role playing the session. Probably the most important thing though was the tools it outlines which include: active listening, facilitating by responding as a reader and the silence and wait time to allow a writer time to think.

Intro to Tutoring

2006-09-11T01:20:00.000-04:00

After reading the first two chapters in Bedford, I feel a bit more confident in becoming a tutor. The appendixes also seemed quite helpful in preparing me for different scenarios that might come up in a session. They gave me a feel for the kinds of things to expect at such a session which allows me to formulate some of my responses. However, I'm still a bit nervous about my tutoring ability because the first couple chapters outlined expected etiquette of the tutor as well as which problems to address as oppose to how to notice the problem. Basically my biggest fear about tutoring is not being helpful enough to the tuttee. A student that takes time out of their day to improve their writing skills should not be disappointed. Hopefully in the next couple weeks and chapters to come, I will learn the skills needed to satisfy other students needs.