Kendrick Ellis Professor Long EN 81103-81 14 October 2011 Analysis of “A Proposal to Abolish Grading” “A Proposal to Abolish Grading” is a short essay written by Paul Goodman, who illustrates his feelings on abolishing grading. Goodman thinks that grading is a waste of time and it discourages students; to Goodman tests are a hindrance to students. The beginning of the essay is somewhat of a challenge to Ivy League schools to do away with grading. In the short essay “A Proposal to Abolish Grading” Goodman uses logos, ethos, and pathos to convey a message to various institutions. In the beginning of the essay, Goodman makes an appeal to pathos by stating “I think that a great majority of professors agree that grading hinders teaching and creates a bad spirit, going as far as cheating and plagiarizing.”(191).
Alicia Zapata English 126 October 31, 2012 In the essay, “Are Social Networks Messing with Your Head?,” David DiSalvo convinces his readers that, “as social networks proliferate, they are changing the way people think about the Internet, from a tool used in solitary anonymity to a medium that touches on questions about human nature and identity; who we are, how we feel about ourselves, and how we act toward one another” (501). He bases his argument on multiple psychological research which indicates social networking sites do not cause loneliness, rather it makes those who were lonely prior to social networking lonelier, and for those who are not lonely, social networking sites actually help them continue their online relationships offline, which isn’t a bad thing in that case. It has also been researched that social networking is a self-esteem booster, and is even paving the way for those with narcissist personalities, however, just as it can be a self-esteem booster, social networking has the ability to bring down self-esteem just as fast. DiSalvo also talks about how we are obsessively going online, spending unhealthy amounts of time on social network websites to the point where it starts to become debilitating. The essay concludes with the idea that there is a transformational current going on, and social media is not only changing the way we interact with one another, but it is also affecting our brains, having a psychological effect on us.
Michael J. Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University and author of the article “Facing the Facebook” in The Chronicle of Higher Education, argues how informational technology has become a distraction rather than an educational tool in the classroom. Although, he acknowledges that social networks such as Facebook are “fascinating” innovative forms of social interaction; he argues that they have affected all levels of academe (Bugeja 1). In his article, Bugeja points out how students' addiction with technology is reflected in their enrollment in institutions. He says that students instead of basing their decision on the reputation of the institution; they rely their decision on the level of technology these institutions offer them. In addition, the author also mentions that technology has created a distraction to students.
No Problem”, argues with Goldstein’s views stating that banning laptops in the class room isn’t the answer. Goldstein stated his points on the topic in a logical manner, but in my personal opinion, overall Choy not only responded to the facts Goldstein had made in his writing, but was even able to go as far as providing other reasons to why students may take advantage of laptops during class hours. The main question asked in both writings stays the same, are laptops beneficial, or unbeneficial to use during class. In Goldstein’s writing he elaborated on how laptops are a distraction in the class rooms in several ways. The first one being the fact that the upraised lids from the laptops prevented professors from making eye contact with there students.
More than describing his reasons, he hopes that many other people identify with his ideas, so he don’t feel as the only one who degrades computers’ function. Berry’s article draws attention of the audience because we live in a society that barely looks up for reasons for not buying not only computers, but also any other technological advance. We live on a pro technology world. Past generations might always seem technology as an enemy because it is hard for them to catch up with technology. Berry’s intention to persuade readers depends whether the reader agrees or disagrees with his reasons.
Angel Alvarez Professor Tarkan-Blanco ENC 1102 13 May 2012 Reading Response One In “College Pressures”, William Zinsser shares his personal experiences as a dean in Bradford College, in hopes of breaking the pressures induced to college students, and stopping the erroneous idea in Zinsser’s view, “How one appears on paper is more important than how one appears in person.” (452) Zinsser believes that college years should be a joyful, enriching, and cultural experience to college students instead of an agonizing mapped road towards a monotonous career. Zinsser reminds his students “... The road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns that they think. there will be plenty time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches.” (451) Thus, Zinsser advices the student body to take chances and explore
There are two cases that could fall under freedom of speech. John ranted on his Facebook page criticizing an important customer of the company and Ellen started a blog to protest the CEO’s bonus and badmouthing her bosses. The First Amendment gives public and private employees different protections in regards to freedom of speech. According to Dolgow (2012), “In America you can say pretty much whatever you want, wherever you want to say it. Unless, that is, you’re at work.
Carr thinks that the net makes people dumper because he proved the net makes people scattered and superficial thinkers. I agree with Carr. Until I read this article, I was thinking the internet makes people smarter but the scientific evidence turned my thought. In additional on his thought, I think the net wastes a lot of time of our lives. Carr said that “ People who are continually distracted by emails, alerts and other messages understand less than who are able to concentrate.” (qtd line 9).
Prisoners of a High-Tech Society “The Technology Slaves” was written by Robin Wheatley. The essay is a response to a selection from Clifford Stoll’s High Tech Heretic. In Stoll’s essay, he states that “using the Internet causes ‘serious negative long-term social effect, ranging from depression to loneliness’” (783). Stoll mentions that the line between play and work can easily become blurred. Wheatley agrees with Stoll’s claims except for his dismissal of the financial costs to maintain a technologically savvy lifestyle.
Having trouble using Wikipedia today? That's because the popular crowd-sourced online encyclopedia is participating in an "Internet blackout" in protest of two controversial anti-piracy bills: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate companion, the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Pictures: Websites go dark to protest SOPA The bills are intended to strengthen protections against copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, but Internet advocates say they would stifle expression on the World Wide Web. In essence, the legislation has pitted content providers -- like the music and film industries -- against Silicon Valley. CBS Corporation is among the media and entertainment companies that support the legislation.