Growth takes time. I found this article very relevant to my situation and probably others as well. When I started this semester I was almost sure that I am not a good writer. During this long 15 week semester I was able to spend plenty of time writing, rewriting, correcting and editing. It was like never endless process. However, each time I read the same paper it made more sense to me and found better ways of correcting it. In Chapter 8, the author Thomas Dow, pg 188. tries to answer to this questions by giving examples. It is hard to know if someone new will become a good writer. It depends on many factors. One of them is how effectively one will express the idea in writing, how much experience will have at the beginning of the course. Mr. Dow presented a great example of Michael Jackson playing a basketball. For some it will takes months to get comfortable on the court, for others it will take less. Similarly in writing, some people will become better writers if they practice more. The good thing is that during this course I was able to grow not only as a writer but also as a person. I received a great amount of life lessons and learned to reflect on others who are less fortunate than us. It takes a lot of effort to learn how to write but practice will make it better. My hope is that similarly to others who practiced I did improve as well.
Dow, Thomas. “Advice, Writer to Writer.’ Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2010. 175-197. Print.
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Iwona Ligeska
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Iwona Ligeska
I found this video very inspiring and interesting. It was a great thought to combine to such a risky journey with the idea of building self-confidence for young people. They could observe and see how much a human being is capable of doing just if he/she set their mind into it. Sometimes teenagers are overwhelmed in their life and lose their faith. They do not have enough motivation to go on even though their life is just beginning. They do not what to do in life and even small goals seems to be not reachable. Life is not easy for some of them and some find it difficult to live in this world. Teenagers easily sink into alcohol or drugs if they don’t have any motivation in life. They are surrounded by computers, games and do not have any skills yet to be on their own. The example of Ray Zahar going to the South Pole with his friends is very powerful. His journey changes impossible in to a possible. You just need to believe it. His inspirational words and experience will definitely encourage young population to go on and think big. When I watched this video I felt like everything in life has its purpose. Sometimes we do things automatically and do not think much about it but God knows that everything in life has its purpose and time. Some people will learn things at 13 years old, others at 40. For each of us this is the right time to learn.
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Iwona Ligeska
When I read this reading “What We Call Ourselves and Others” I was able to see how adjectives give meanings to nouns and also label them with positive or negative association. In reality each label is taking away the true meaning of a word. They distract our minds from seeing with a clear and fresh look. Labels mask the real face of a word. One of the examples was about rating college girls for their beauty, character, ambition, intelligence and general likability. This experiment was done without using last names, only based on the above characteristics. It turned out that majority of girls received favorable votes. Then two months later, the same contest was repeated but this time each girl was introduced with a last name either Jewish, Italian or Irish. After voting it turned out that the results were less favorable for Italian and Irish, much less for Jewish. It was obvious to see that last names had a huge impact on this contest. As of this results, most of the college girls received much less votes. Clearly, we can see that even using proper names can influence others perception. When we use names in minority groups, those words not only characterize the person but often makes the person feel rejected or less important. In reality, minorities are very sensitive to some words without realizing that those words are not meant to hurt them and majorities use those words without any intentions of hurting someone. Labels can steal the true meaning of a one simple word.
— Bauer, Laurie, James Holmes and Paul Warren. “What we call ourselves and others: Names, Solidarity, and Stereotypes.” Bauer, Laurie, James Holmes and Paul Warren. Language Matters. Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. 293-337. PDF Document.
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Iwona Ligeska
When I was doing my own service activism research paper I felt lost. I was not sure whether I should do the interview with someone from the agency that I was supposed to go or maybe I should talk to the experts about their experience in a field. Perhaps I should just observe and write my observations down. Then I learned about a field work and that was even more confusing. So, I reviewed my printed lessons and planned to research some stuff on the internet hoping that the rest would just pop in my head. When I was looking for resources I got the idea to check the WWR book as well. So, here it is “The social side of research, Talking with experts”, pg 127. Prof. McGuire asked one of his classes to investigate and explore the word “Mystory”. Some of the students checked the Google engine, but none of them could find the true meaning for this word. There were 100 of websites but they all would give a different meaning. It was a hard task, probably as much hard as ours to do about the fieldwork, where everything is new to me like this word mystory. Finally, one of the students decided to call the person up who came up with this name. It turned out that this person, was a regular person with contact numbers, e-mail and address. This time it became easy, the student wrote a question about the word, and this professor e-mailed him back. What a surprise. Similarly, with this fieldwork project, we can ask our professor for directions and advice. It is much easier to ask professionals because they are in a field. This might be a light in a tunnel and open the door for a great research experience.
— McGuire, Michael.”The social side of the research” Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque, Ia, 2010.p.127. Print. -
Iwona Ligeska
I was able to associate my person with Mr. Swanson who said that “our past experiences hold us back”. It’s is like a voice inside the brain that tells us not to do something. I can relate this feeling to my own example because I had a chance to experience that in many ways. I grow up in a not highly educated family and I wanted to study after high-school. Well, my parents would always discourage me from studying because according to their belief you had to be rich and smart to study. I had good grades but that did not convince my parents to send me to college. I had this believe that I will not be successful in college. And I never even tried to sign up. I took me years to believe that I can do it, and I made a decision to go back to school three years ago. I agree with Mr. Swanson in his article” Why I like Mike the builder”, because he explained clearly that “sometimes beliefs are helpful but sometimes they hold us back.” For some like me it took years to overcome my belief, while others might never change it. We have similar belief in writing, if you don’t practice and do not have any experience with this, writing will be difficult. For some it might be even scary to overcome. Others, like Mr. McGuire will get into a project without even thinking how hard it might be. He got himself into a building a playhouse for his son and realizing that he has no idea how to do it. He went to the hardware store, library and asked experts for advice. He put his belief behind. I learned not to look behind but focus how you can improve and get the experience. Once you start and practice it will get better. I enjoyed this article because it helped me understand why people think this way.
Troy Swanson.” Why I like Mike the Builder”. “Why White Rice? -Thinking Through Writing”. Kendal Hunt Pub. 2010. p.134-135 -
Iwona Ligeska
In Margret’s story: “Requiring “ Transformation” I was able to empathize with students who had similar questions like me about volunteering. When I heard about the service learning project I felt like there is another obligation that I need to do to pass this course. I asked myself many questions before planning such experience. I had to deal with no time excuse, no idea how to ask my boss for time off, how to persuade my husband that this is a worth the cause and I need to be there. In this story, students represented the same worries and same questions that I went through during my experience. I hardly have time for my family, and making extra time for volunteering was really a big issue for me. I understood the “learning rebellion” volunteering. Finally, when I scheduled myself to go the GCFD my uncertainty was gone. I learned that this is my mission and I am really needed there. Suddenly, I stopped worrying about the paper that I need to write and the hours that I have to be there. I was able to see and feel the need to help those who were less fortunate than me. I felt joy and satisfaction that I was able to find the time to help others. In this story I could see that structurally everything stays the same ” poor stay poor and the privileged stay privileged”. Volunteers have a chance to do more than expected. They can take this issue to the next level by getting more involve in this learning experience.
— Hamler Carrick, Tracy; Himley, Margaret; Jacobi, Tobi.Margret’s story:”Requiring” transformation; Ruptura: Acknowleding the Lost Subjects of the Service Learning Story. 2000. pg. 56-74 -
Iwona Ligeska
The city of New York looked quiet. Couple of bored police officers gathered by the Egyptian Embassy looking around like something was about to happened. The three colored flag: red, white and black, was waving from the building. The streets were quiet and the city life looked normal like in any other day. Then, I noticed a helicopter flying above the city, which was unusual to me. The winter wind was not too cold for this time of the year. It was quiet and safe on the streets of New York. There was no snow and cars were passing by fast on a nearby street. At this same time, Egypt was in a midst of a revolution. People were fighting on the streets and many lost their lives. It was a nightmare for all Egyptian citizens. Then, the evening has come and people gathered by the Egyptian Embassy. Suddenly, there were thousands of people who were prepared to rally against the Egyptian dictator Muhammad Mubarak. I have never heard about him before and Egyptian system was unknown to me. People had signs with different slogans on them: “Egyptian freedom is our freedom, free Egypt, no more blood”, etc. People demanded less fight and freedom for their country, Egypt. They fled to United States to escape the Egyptian regime and asked for support from other countries like the U.S.A. Families and children carried signs of peace and called for justice. It was an eye opener for many. We should fight for freedom of all citizens and justice around the world.
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Iwona Ligeska
The story is about a young lady Sunaura Taylor, who was born with physical disability. During her interview with Judith Butler I was able to learn about her journey, where she faced physical and social limitations. When she talked about it, she diligently described the challenges that population with special needs has to overcome. Nowadays, physical barriers are less common. People design cars, buildings, special equipment to help less able-bodied people be a part of the community. The thing is that able-bodied people don’t know how to interact with others who need special accommodations. Able bodied people face social challenges as well. It seems to me that disability affects both people who are disable and people who are able-bodied but in a different ways. Majority of people do not know how to interact with people with disabilities and lack of knowledge creates social isolation. Even though technology is advanced and mobility is a less of an issue, people with disabilities feel socially isolated and not accepted. People without disabilities feel awkward because they do not know if they should help and if so how. The main reason why people feel this way is lack of knowledge. When we grow up we did not see as many people on wheelchairs on the street. Nothing was accessible and people with physical limitations were stuck at home. When I read this article I realized that able-bodied person might experience similar difficulties like persons with physical impairments. When people go for a walk, they depend on some structures and social opinions in order to go outside. It’s expected to fit into a unwritten norm to dress and behave appropriately otherwise a person with a different behavior will be seen as a freak. It was a very informative interview and I was able to identify with people who need our help, but feel embarrassed to ask. I feel that we should be less judgmental and more caring.
— Butler, Judith. “Interdependence.” learning. writting101. Professor McGuire. Web.
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Iwona Ligeska
When I read the article” Writing is Limitless” by Basima Ismail, I was able to associate myself with her. Similarly, I though that an English teacher has to be a great writer, because that’s what he or she is good at. I even think the same way about Professor McGuire, because he wrote a book and knows all the rules and hints about writing. So, when I started this course I was bit uncomfortable writing because I did not have much experience and did not write for a long time. I had the same association like Basima, that I am not a good writer, and not creative at all. Then, I read a few chapters and realized that this is just a myth that I have been growing up with. I was taught like most of the students how to write a five paragraph paper with a nice introduction and a conclusion. So, my thinking was very limited, and I was stack in that box. I was afraid to write too little and too much. Now, when the new field working project is coming up I realized that I have a chance to write about everything, from the things that I see, perceive and analyze. I will have a chance to express myself through writing. There will be me exploring the world with the eyes of young child who do not know the rules, yet wants to express itself. I will have a chance to observe and question the things that are new to my world.
— WWR Thinking Through Writing. Eric R Devillez, Thomas P Dow, Michael S McGuire, Troy A Swanson. 6.2.Writing is limitless, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company.
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Iwona Ligeska
Can anyone tell me what is the next project about? Second service -learning experience or interview?
I am a little bit confused. Please advise. Thanks-
Iwona Ligeska
Thanks, I was not sure what kind of a project is next.
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Alex Jellema
I’m not sure if that’s what’s next, but we will have to do it sometime in the remainder of the semester. Glad to help!
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Alex Jellema
We will need to do a second service opportunity, but one that we find on our own. So instead of Professor McGuire giving us one, we need to look for one in our community and help out with ourselves.
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Iwona Ligeska
In my understanding socializing means getting along with people and talking with them. When we were born our parents, teachers, neighbors shaped our behavior and brought a “specific set of social identities”. They taught us to be nice to others, to share, to have friends and how to fit in a community. Our identity was also shaped by our religion, gender, physical ability and the social class we lived in. When we got older we become conscious who we are and how we feel about people around us. Many times we judge people based on how the look or how they behave. Our unconscious mind categorizes people and make assumptions about others. When I was a child, I though all people who had a tattoos were criminals. This was my parent’s belief which they passed along to me when I was little. When I grew up I was surprised to learn that this is not true. Somehow, I do have this idea up to this day, that tattoos are for people with criminal background. Eventually, we start to think the same way when someone has influence on us. Regardless if we are adults, or young people we are forced to make decisions to fit in a our society. People who raise their voice or have different opinion expose themselves to danger. As a result, some people choose not to speak up or not to contribute in the society. This is not a solution. We need overcome the societal barriers and be ourselves. We can make the change but we need to get rid of the barriers that block us from the freedom.
Harro, Bobbie. The Cycle of Socialization. First socialization :15-21.Web.Mar 21.2012
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Iwona Ligeska
After watching the vision test video, I realized that this lady who took the test, was making choices based on her assumptions. There were different choices to pick from. She had a choice to pick up a person who could be her boss. How can we say who would be a better boss by just looking at the picture? It all comes from experience. If you lived in a Italian community probably you would prefer a handsome looking man to be your boss. Maybe you would prefer a female boss than a man boss. It is hard to tell by just looking at the picture.We have our own preferences and identities and these affect our thinking. In order to find out why ?We need to do some research, we need to step outside our boundries and get into a new field.It might be hard to leave your background behind because you feel comfortable with your beliefs. In order to understand a new way we need to test a new ground, get into a fieldwork.
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Iwona Ligeska
For this reading journal I would like to post my thoughts about “Sister Helen” movie. Before I even saw this movie I was prepared to see another Sister Teresa helping out poor people living on the streets. After a couple of minutes I was surprised to learn that Sister Helen was helping the drug addicts, alcoholics and people who did not fit in the society. Their addiction did so much damage to other people, their families and themselves. They did not receive a second chance from their families. Sister Helen stated a very important thought that it really got me thinking:” Everyone deserves a second chance in life”. This is how she lived her life. After many years of drinking and losing her family, Sister Helen had a desire to help others who were less fortunate than her. She did not have any money to run a recovery house, but she had a strong need to give a second chance to others. When I looked at her personality I saw a very strong lady who went above and beyond to serve. I think she tried to make up for her lost years when she was an alcohol addict. God gave her another chance to improve and she took it seriously. She did not only help others but she helped herself too. Sister Helen proved that one person with no money can make a difference in a society. When I reflect on her life I know that each of us can do something positive for others. We need to change ourselves first to be example for others. We all need a second chance in life.
— Film by Rob Fruchtman and Rebecca Cammisa “Sister Helen” Copyright © 2012 Hulu. All rights reserved
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Sujoud Jumah
Hey Iwona,
I was very impressed how strong Sister Helen was, and how much the guys respected her and even feared her. Also, I kind of find it a little funny how scared all of those grown men were of this old lady.
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Iwona Ligeska
After I signed up for the whole class workshop, I read Chapter I, the article 1.5 “Myth: Having other people read your paper is a waste of time”. I had the same fear like Mr. Swanson mentioned in his article: “I was embarrassed to show anybody what I wrote”, “Getting help means I am stupid” and “The person reading my paper will not understand what I am talking about”. I was surprised to learn that not many students volunteered for the whole class workshop so I decided to take a risk. I was shy because I did not want to be judged by anyone. Then, I realized that my writings reflect me and I should not be embarrassed of who I am. I am not a perfect writer but I do want to state my point of view and hear other opinions about it. Surprisingly, other students knew what I was talking about and they offered a great feedback. I think it is a great advantage for the students to express their opinions and to read other papers. Myself, I learned a lot from it. It is helpful to have someone from the same class read and add to your paper. It ‘s like a beautification contest. The trick is to “ stay away from the people who do not recommend any changes”. You need objective criticism and only this way you can make corrections and learn. I think it’s a positive experience and it is going to help me with making corrections and proofreading for my final portfolio.
— WWR, Thinking through writing, Eric Devillez, Michael S McGuire, Thomas P Dow, Troy a Swanson, “Myth: Having other people read your paper is a waste of time”1.5 -
Iwona Ligeska
Mr. Swanson wrote a very interesting statement in Chapter 2 : “One of the first creative things to consider as you work your way through college is not always to believe what you read in a textbook or what your professors tell you”. This tells me that you have to be the judge of the material you read, you the student have the right to decide whether you study for the sake of a good grades or you study to get the knowledge and the experience. I am glad teachers recognized the need to engage the students in writing and deeper thinking and they even like “dangerous writing”. This is the point. Education is not only a set of rules and standards but also a chance to express yourself. You need to learn how to think creatively because this will help you to succeed in life. When I think about this class it sure makes me think deeper than I could imagine. I had to really think what is important to me and my family that I would like to change when I wrote the Activist paper. Another important aspect in this chapter is mental preparation to write a paper and prewriting. In 2.3. How to begin I found very interesting sentence:” You’ve got to have your mind in the right place and your body will follow”. I think this is the best advise, you have to be mentally ready and even anxious to put your thoughts on a paper. Your body has to focus on writing. The ideas will just flow immediately, save you time and surprise you with a good outcome.
Troy Swanson “ The machine that is replacing me is getting cheaper every day” Why White Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company 2010 Dubuque,Iowa
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Patrycja Gola
I have always had a lot more respect for people who have the creativity to come up with new and exciting ideas as opposed to those know it alls who need the absolute best grade. An A doesn’t necessarily mean you are smart. I agree with your statement on the way a student learns, is it for grades or for the knowledge and experience, because some students do it for the grade but have no knowledge in the end.
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Iwona Ligeska
Chapter 4 which talks about thesis, developing ideas, asking questions and critical thinking. After I watched “Arguing your position” I realized that that we do argument with people on daily basis. If there is a time for a raise time at work, we need to prepare ourselves and have reasons why we want this much money and prove it. We can’t argue without any reliable information, because no one will believe us. Like in a persuasive paper we need to explain our stand point and put it in writing. We need to do some research and be well informed in order to resist opposing statements. I think if we learn how to write correctly a “position paper” we will learn the skills of having an argument and supporting it with evidence. This skill is very important in life. The next video” Three persuasive appeals” thought me how important is to prepare the argument and know the audience beforehand. In order to convince your audience you need to use emotional language, refrain to experts or people with high respect, use facts and be open minded. No abusive language or judging. We need to use logic, credibility and emotions to persuade a person. This is a great lesson for me and I am sure it will help me to get my point across and be more persuasive.
McGuire, Michael. “Writing a Position Paper.” Narr Michael McGuire. learning.writing101. writing101, 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. -
Iwona Ligeska
Chapter 4 The Dreaded words: thesis contained a lot of good examples how to write a thesis and how to develop writing for a purpose. Like the author said “when you have a goal and you want to travel somewhere you need a map and a certain time.” Similarly in writing, you need a map your- thesis and your desire to travel. When you have a map, you stick to the plan and move forward. Your writing is related to the point because you see your goal in front of you and it’s harder to get lost this way. However sometimes it’s beneficial to get off the track, you get to see other ideas, resources and that can build up your thesis. Now, how to write a thesis when you don’t know how? You have to ask questions: who, when, how, where, when and why. You get to explore and look for ideas. When you write and write you activate your deeper thinking and this can help you to get the idea behind the scenes. This is called critical thinking. Another recommendation is to ask questions. Your experience, memory will help you to find answers and will move on the process of writing. When you think you done with the paper here comes revising, editing, proofreading. You need your critical skills again, to be able to revise our paper objectively and make the corrections. 4.3.4 Your writing paper is going through a process of improving, changing and revision is like beautification challenge you have another chance to make it shine.
DeVillez, Eric “You Can Do It in the Garden or in an Elevator, Writing is Critical Thinking” Why Write Rice? The dreaded word:Thesis. Kendall Hunt .Publishing 77-99 -
Iwona Ligeska
Critical thinking in Chapter 4 is visualized through painting of a men sitting on a stone and thinking. It looks like a nice sculpture and makes us think what is this guy thinking about. It looks so simple but for each of us it can have a different meaning. Probably each student will have to think deeper inside to guess what could have happened. In order to understand the concept of critical thinking we need to connect our experience, ideas, knowledge together and then we can make a point. The idea of looking inside and writing about it makes us critical thinkers. When you write you have to think how to start, what topic to choose and how to connect the ideas. This is all related to writing and requires critical thinking.
Devillez, Eric “You Can Do It in the Garden or in an Elevator, Writing is Critical Thinking” Why Write Rice? Thinking Through Writing. Kendall Hunt Publishing 77-99 -
Iwona Ligeska
This is my first time learning about Peace Corps organization. I was born in a different country and the only volunteer organization that I knew was Red Cross. I was able to learn about it during emergencies in my country Poland and I was always passionate to help them. After reading Peter Hessler’s article, I learned about Peace Corps which was established in 1966 by John F. Kennedy. He never thought about establishing a volunteer organization before. However, when Richard Nixon attacked his party for being responsible for leading wars and not helping anyone, Mr. Kennedy got the idea to establish Peace Corps. The goal of this agency was to help underdeveloped countries, get them clean water, teach the children and adults how to read, build schools etc. Years passed by and now there is a new young 31 years old, Rajeev Goyal. He comes from a rich family, has everything he wants and suddenly he decides to help others. His desire to help is stronger than anything else in his life. I ask myself a question how such a young person came out with the idea to leave this country to educate and help others? Most young people think about career, making big money, buying a house and starting a family. In most cases it takes years or some kind of a trauma for people to realize that there are others around and we can contribute to society. He had to be so mature to see the needs of others and to be willing to help them. I believe this was his calling and he did achieved a lot for people. He invested his time, skills, determination, knowledge and did not hesitate to ask for help. I am sure that each of us has the potential to do something for others. We need to step aside from our comfort zone and see what we can offer to this world. Each of us can be another “Rajeev Goyal”.
— Peter, Hessler. “Villge Voice : The Peace Corp’s brightest hope.” learning.writing 101, 6 Feb.2012. Web. 15 Feb.2012.
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Linda Seguin
Hello Iwona,
I really enjoyed your viewpoint on the Village Voice article and the Peace Corp. I think you summed up Rajeev’s committment nicely when you stated, “He invested his time, skills, determination, knowledge and did not hesitate to ask for help.” I agree that we each have alot to offer in terms of good will to those less fortunate and we need to all give thanks everyday for what pooortunitys we have in this country.
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Iwona Ligeska
Chapter 7
I never paid attention why it is so important to use citation until I had to research and document the sources for my Alzheimer’s disease paper. I had to browse through tons of information on the web and make a well documented research paper. Some students asked what web sites I visited and I was able to locate it with my citations. I thought that citation is only useful when you need to support the material. After reading chapter 7, I understood other reasons for using citations. Like Mr. Troy said it gets a little bit complicated. Some people use ideas and claim their ownership and get credit for it. That happened with music industry, many artists had to fight to protect their work. It’s about being fair and responsible. Citations is useful when we need to document the source of our knowledge and to be able to respond with credible source if needed. If one disagrees with someone we can prove our point of view with our resources and create new ideas. I liked the example with Quentin Tarantino who had a new idea of using somebody’s work and combining with his film. He did so perfectly that was not accused of plagiarism but as “one of the premier filmmakers of our time”. I believe students can do this as well. We have so many resources to choose from, therefore we have to handle it responsibly, without plagiarism, copying and claiming as our own product. The example of famous speech by Obama who used his friend speech tells all. We should not settle ourselves for less, we are creative and we can do it even better with so many resources.
Troy Swanson.” Mash It Up…Gracefully”. “Why White Rice? -Thinking Through Writing”. Kendal Hunt Pub. 2010. p.163-174-
Kimberly Kolozy
Absolutely. Can you imagine what things would be like if no one cited their sources? It would be constant bickering and incorrect information spread everywhere. Makes you really appreciate the necessity of giving credit where credit is due.
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Iwona Ligeska
Chapter 3.
When I read the article “How I took on Beatrice and Won” by Thomas Dow I realized that women constantly say “ who cares about men? They come and go. I understand how humiliating it must be for someone to hear that statement. It took a lot of courage for Mr. Dow to sit quietly and do not get involve in a conversation. This statement gave him an inspiration to fight that statement back with a great “ammunition”. Even though this task was not a pleasant one but was strong enough for him to research and use it as a topic for his important paper. At the end a small research paper turned into a 400 pages document.
The idea of the author is to find something that we care about and want to learn. It will be much easier to write a paper about something that is meaningful for one. My next article :”No, we didn’t win the lottery” explains my hesitations over the years looking for something meaningful in my life. I have a fair job, ok money but no passion about it. Money are a good monetary rewards but with time they don’t matter as much. What is important is the intrinsic rewards and passion for doing something that you love and care about. When I started college I thought I will figure it out what I want to be in a future and I still did not decide what to do in my life. Maybe that is a good sign because I can still learn and explore the world like the author Thomas Dow did.Dow, Thomas. “How I Took on Beatrice and Won.” Why White Rice?: Thinking Through Writing. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2010. 63-67. Print.
Dow, Thomas. Why White Rice?. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt, 2010. Print-
Kimberly Kolozy
I feel the same way. I think this will help us to begin to understand more about ourselves as time goes on.
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Iwona Ligeska
What about the Dave Eggers’ stories? Well, I understand the anxiety of the man who learned about the soldier who died in another country. I guess it was a very powerful picture because the person who looked at the picture “froze” for the entire day. No one wants to see and experience the death of a soldier and to find out that his body was mistreated. This men felt like something needs to be done¸ because he was sitting in a comfort of his home, while others are risking their lives. There were other sad cases of death but they happened in the country, therefore poor men did not think about them. Sometimes we feel that new laws has to be made but we are afraid to stand for them. We take a step back and wait. Maybe somebody else will take care of it. When I read the other story “Your mother and I “ I realized how much is left for us to do to protect our environment and society. Our leaders are on the mission to protect the environment and “Go Green” but manufacturers still print more papers, boxes, containers and produce so much waste. Why recyclable items and organic clothes are so expensive? How can we protect the earth and produce less.? The stories are related because it show us how much each person is capable of doing. If we believe that something needs to be done, we need to find a desire and go for it. It will benefit not only us but our future generation and our children.
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Iwona Ligeska
How Google works? After reading this article I realized that yes Google is the most visited website and I am it’s frequent browser as well. Whenever I do a project or research I use it. No one has to tell me what to do. I just Google it. I am not surprised that students don’t know what to do with a project. It’s so easy and convenient to sit in your own comfort zone and explore the world with Google. This website is a great source of information but will not substitute our thinking.Students relay so much on this website that shortly “develop dependency and helplessness”. Even worse they are not able to think without Goggle it first. When I was in High school all projects were done in a library. It was the greatest place to go to with friends. Librarians were busy helping the students and offered great resources. I agree with Michael McGuire “googling is not the same as thinking”. It rubs our brain from creativity and freedom of thinking. I know it is a very helpful website but limits our potential and other resources.
Citation -
Iwona Ligeska
Hi. My name is Iwona Ligeska. This is my second year at MVCC. After 10 years I decided to go back to complete my degree.I love people and fun so I decided to go in this direction. My major is Recreation Therapy and I love it. I also have 3 children which I adore and have fun with. I do not belong to any organization becouse of my work, family and school but I appreciate the work of others who are angels and go the extra mile to help others.I would love to learn from others because it’s easier to learn this way.I am a little bit overhwhelmed with the new system but looking forward to learn more.I wish everyone a great journey.
Linda Seguin, 
Maureen Rich, and 
Mayra Pulido are discussing. 
Alex Jellema, and 
Iwona Ligeska are discussing. 
Sujoud Jumah is discussing. 
Patrycja Gola is discussing. 
Kimberly Kolozy is discussing. 
Linda Seguin 6:45 am on April 13, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Iwona, I am sure you have heard the expression, nothing is easy in life. Perseverance is the key to achieving all of your dreams. Gaining knowledge through college and applying lessons learned will make your path easier. In our society today you must have a higher education to excel at your profession. Congratualations on sticking with your decision to go to college.
Maureen Rich 9:19 pm on April 11, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I can relate to you Iwona. My parents were the same way and turned me away from going to school as well. My parents tried telling me that college wasn’t for me. You had to be extremly smart to go and I just wasn’t going to cut it. It did hold me back for a little bit, but like you I went and made the decision to pursue it.
Mayra Pulido 2:24 pm on April 10, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You made a good choice signing up for school! You took a chance even though you had a certain belief.