Assignment 4 Final

College: Appropriate Path to Success

The general argument made by Dale Stephens in his work, “The Case Against College,” is that college is not the only path to success, and should be replaced by self-directed learning. More specifically, Stephens argues that self-directed learning is not solitary learning; instead it allows you to create a learning community in the real world. Additionally, he argues that college kills creativity, over nineteen million college students graduate in debt, and people can still get a good job without an actual college degree. He writes, “Our education system cultivates a mind-set where students are rewarded for following directions.” In this passage, Stephens is suggesting that the education system is standard and consistent, thus deprives students of creativity. In conclusion, Stephens’ belief is that people can still gain success without the college experience.

In my view, Dale Stephens’ ideas are valid because college is certainly not for everyone. More specifically, I believe that college is expensive and most of the students graduate with a huge debt and end up working multiple shifts during their schooling career, and even after they graduate from college. However, I believe that it is worthwhile in the end because your degree can get you a well paid job in your desired profession, thus being able to pay all the expenses from college. Although, Stephens may object that college kills creativity, I maintain that the schooling system before college deprived students of creativity before even attending college. Therefore, I conclude that college is not the problem, instead it expands the use of creativity each day, thus people should attend college in order to be well prepared for the professional work force and become successful.

Stephens states that, “creativity is innate—the problem is that schools kill creativity.” I agree that creativity is innate, however I disagree that the problem is with college. I believe that the problem for the loss of creativity started in the previous years of schooling before college. This problem is due to the fact that the education system, such as New York State, is based on standardized testing. As Clinton stated in 2007 on the topic on the “No Child Left behind System,” the tests are becoming the curriculum, which should be the other way around. This is due because more time is spent on preparations for the final state exams, such as the regents examinations. Obviously, preparation is time-consuming, thus reducing time for field trips, or subjects pertaining to arts, music, or dance. The field trips are essential because that’s when students get the chance to use their creativity and view the world in different perspectives. This is why Dale Stephens believe that people should go into the real world and seek better knowledge instead of going to college.

Sir Ken Robinson states in his “Changing Education Paradigms,” how the arts are being lost in education and are just as important as science and math. I most certainly agree with this and did not realize this idea until actually taking the course Art History. Believe it or not, art is associated with everything and is everywhere we go. Take for example, the art works during the Classical Greek period. One sculptor of that time,Polykleitos, wrote that the head of the human figure should be one-seventh of the body, this known as canon of proportions. Isn’t proportions taught in math? Then you might ask, what about science? Well, in science we learn about the winter and summer solstices. Did you ever think you could learn this through art? Stonehenge, the most basic form of architecture, is oriented toward sunrise on the longest day of the year, the summer solstice. This artwork can also be used to predict eclipses. Therefore, I propose that by including more time on arts and field trips in our education, we enhance our knowledge in a way that we may learn something new that was not taught in class due too much time taken on for preparations.

Stephens states that, “although Facebook and Microsoft may have started at universities, the innovation took place outside the classroom.” This idea may validate to be true; however I disagree with Stephens’ idea that the STEM subjects are taught well outside of the classroom. Again, this problem goes back to the situation with the previous schooling system before college. For example, in New York State, thousands of hours are spent throughout the school years preparing for and taking examinations, such as preparation for the SAT. This is bad because a student’s score on one test practically determines their future. For example, parents and schools spend lots of money on tutors or practice booklets just to prepare their students for the SAT. Some students may be better test-takers than those who do better on performance-based testing. So the student with the higher SAT score gets into a good college, and the other student may end up dropping out because he/she may feel ignorant because of their score. Overall, the tests give little indication as to what the students can do in real world situations. Thus, performance-based testing should replace the standard testing.

Stephens suggests that the STEM subjects are taught outside of the classroom; however the question considered here, is whether they are taught well outside of the classroom. Innovations in technology in today’s society are increasing. For example, many institutions are now using iTunes University, including University at Buffalo. This is a component of the music store that allows Universities and Institutions to create unique portals to deliver content Podcasts. iTunes University is good for lectures in any subject including science or math. The main purpose of this tool is to have an alternate for getting class notes if you missed class. Unfortunately, this becomes an excuse to miss class. Then, it leads up to the question of whether the students are using the Podcasts to complete their notes from lecture or just creating notes from the Podcasts. iTunes U is beneficial, however, can be a distraction. This tool can be used either from a mobile device or a computer; thus leading to distractions such as facebook, or music. Recent study showed that students who took additional notes in a Podcast session generally scored higher than those who did not. Since this tool is mainly a visual and auditory learning technique, kinesthetic learning, which is by far the best learning technique for the STEM subjects, is left out in this tool. Therefore, I conclude that the STEM subjects are not taught well outside of the classroom.

Along with this idea of technology changing education in today’s society, Stephens states that the best networks are built on personal relationships, not a distant common experience. He suggests that the internet makes it easier to know someone. I agree with him that you build better networks with people that know you because it gives them an incentive to help you. Although, the internet is useful in meeting people, it is not the best in building efficient networks. When you meet someone online, either through facebook or twitter, how do you know that the person you meet is really what they say or describe about themselves? You would not want to share your information with just anyone. On the contrary, college makes it easy to build resourceful networks. You can start off simply through your new friends or classmates with different backgrounds. Or you can get to know your professor and let him/her know you by attending office hours, which is greatly beneficial in that you can turn to that professor for letter of recommendations. Obviously, building a network through professors is much more convenient than through someone online. Therefore, I conclude that college allows students to build effective networks daily, which is necessary for success in life.

In Stephens’ Manifesto, he states that going to college is not the only way to get a job, but I believe a college degree increases your chances of getting a well-paid job after graduation. He believes that the uncollege experience is not fit for everyone, but it is just as valuable as a college degree. I agree with him that college is not for everyone and it is becoming more difficult to evaluate potential employees because resumes don’t really prove what someone can do. It is easy to make yourself stand out as a well qualified candidate for the job you are seeking. However I disagree with Stephens on his belief that the uncollege experience is just as valuable as a college degree. Sure the uncollege experience may allow you to gain knowledge through the use of creativity, but it lacks the full-package of the college experience. According to Fred Zuker, Dean of Undergraduate admissions at the University of Dallas, College is an incredible time of discovery, adventure, and learning. You cannot get this full package anyway else other than college. Many colleges have courses and activities that will offer an educational experience that will open doors to careers and the benefits of life as an educated person. Now say if you wanted to become a doctor or lawyer. Could you easily get into that profession with the uncollege experience? This answer is simple. Obviously, you cannot become a doctor without going to medical school. Is one with the uncollege experience able to attend medical school easily? Of course not! Prerequisites and certain GPA’s and lots of other requirements are necessary to get into Medical School, for example at UB. And when employers seek potential employees, resumes are not the only thing that will get you hired, instead how well you demonstrate your abilities is what can get you hired in the professional work fields; thus college is the best way to get the full benefits.

 

Stephens states, “there are a little over 19 million college students in the United States, each of whom are graduating with an average of $24, 000 in debt.” I agree with Stephens’ idea, in fact I’m sure many people can agree to this idea. However, although Stephens may object that college is expensive, and is a key factor when deciding on attending college, people should focus more attention on the outcome of a college career.

College is in high use of creativity, in which it allows students to be independent from the standard rules followed throughout their previous years of schooling. In high school, teachers stick to the curriculum and the exams test on how well students understood the material covered in the textbooks. Unfortunately, the exams do not test how well the students can deal with real world situations in life. However, in college, the subjects you are taking are preparing you for your desired profession. Such as history prepares you for law school, or biology prepares you for medical school. In addition, art history prepares you for a major in Culture or History. In general, many subjects in college go beyond what is covered in textbooks and relate to real-world applications. College does not mean memorizing facts and figures, but rather building the skills and qualities you need to learn, think, and create on your own. In other words, college’s main goal is to prepare students for career success. College takes us on journeys to freedom and independence, allowing each individual to take their desired path of success to reach their destination, or preferred work field. Each day in college, students are building new skills that they may not be aware of until later on in life when it becomes necessary out in the real world. Such skills include interacting, networking, communicating, creativity, and even globalization. Moreover, college is definitely worthwhile for our future success in life.

Argument Templates: Useful or Condescending?

I feel that the argument templates are very useful. They really make our papers stronger and well-organized. I believe they are useful because they help us form a strong thesis statement by answering the “who”, “what”, “where”, “why”, and “how”. These five questions are essential in building a strong argument and allows us to organize our key points around our central idea. Although the templates may sound less sophicated and seem like a standard form, they are useful, in which they provide a starting point for our essays. If we do not like these ways, we can always change a few words around or switch sentences around to satisfy our own writing style. Overall, the argument templates help us form a thesis agrument and introduction, which people usually get stuck around when beginning an essay.

Assignment #4 draft 1

Assignment #4

The general argument made by Dale Stephens in his work, The Case Against College, is that people should avoid college and should gain knowledge outside of the classroom. More specifically, Dale Stephens argues that people should not go to college because it kills creativity, over nineteen million college students graduate in debt, and people can still get a good job without an actual degree. He writes, “Our education system cultivates a mind-set where students are rewarded for following directions.” In this passage, Dale Stephens is suggesting that the education system is standard and consistent, thus deprives students of creativity. In conclusion, Dale Stephens’ belief is that people can still gain success without the college experience.

In my view, Dale Stephens’ ideas are valid because many students start their college year in debt. More specifically, I believe that college is expensive and most of the students graduate with a huge debt and have to work either during as a student or after college to pay the debt. However, I believe that it’s worthwhile in the end because your degree can get you a well paid job in your desired profession, thus being able to pay all the expenses from college. Although, Dale Stephens may object that college kills creativity, I maintain that the schooling system before college deprived students of creativity before attending college. Therefore, I conclude, that college is not the problem expands the use of creativity each day, thus people should attend college in order to be well prepared for the professional work force and become successful.

Dale Stephens states that, “creativity is innate—the problem is that schools kill creativity.” I agree that creativity is innate, however I disagree that the problem is with college. I believe that the problem for the loss of creativity started in the previous years of schooling before college. This problem is due to the fact that the education system, such as New York State, is based on standardized testing. AS Clinton stated in 2007 on the topic on the “No Child Left behind System,” the tests are becoming the curriculum, which should be the other way around. This is due because more time is spent on preparations for the final state exams, such as the regents examinations. Obviously, preparation is time-consuming, thus reducing time for field trips, or subjects pertaining to arts, music, or dance. The field trips are essential because that’s when students get the chance to use their creativity and view the world in different perspectives. This is why Dale Stephens believe that people should go into the real world and seek better knowledge instead of going to college.

Dale Stephens states that, “although Facebook and Microsoft may have started at universities, the innovation took place outside the classroom.” This idea may validate to be true; however I disagree with Dale’s idea that the STEM subjects are taught well outside of the classroom. Again, this problem goes back to the situation with the previous schooling system before college. For example, in New York State, thousands of hours are spent throughout the school years preparing for and taking examinations, such as preparation for the SAT. This is bad because a student’s score on one test practically determines their future. For example, parents and schools spend lots of money on tutors or practice booklets just to prepare their students for the SAT. Some students may be better test-takers than those who do better on performance-based testing. So the student with the higher SAT score gets into a good college, and the other student may end up dropping out because he/she may feel ignorant because of their score. Overall, the tests give little indication as to what the students can do in real world situations. Thus, performance-based testing should replace the standard testing.

Based on my own experience, the STEM subjects are taught well through performance-based testing rather than basing everything from textbooks. During my junior and senior years of High School, I participated in Northrop Grumman’s WORTHY Program, in which I, along with other students were taught the STEM subjects through hands-on projects. Each student was paired with two mentors to develop a project related to real world situations and present it at the end of the year, which was a performance test. This program definitely preferred me for possible professions dealing with software, or engineering.

Dale Stephens argues that, “employers are finding it more difficult to evaluate potential employees,” and that the uncollege experience is just as valuable as a college degree. I agree with Dale Stephens that it is becoming more difficult to evaluate potential employees because resumes don’t really prove what someone can do. It is easy to make yourself stand out as a well qualified candidate for the job you are seeking. However I disagree with Dale Stephens on his belief that the uncollege experience is just as valuable as a college degree.  Sure the uncollege experience may allow you to gain knowledge through the use of creativity, but it lacks the full-package of the college experience. According to Fred Zuker, Dean of Undergraduate admissions at the University of Dallas, College is an incredible time of discovery, adventure, and learning. You cannot get this full package anyway else other than college. Many colleges have courses and activities that will offer an educational experience that will open doors to careers and the benefits of life as an educated person. Now say if you wanted to become a doctor or lawyer. Could you easily get into that profession with the uncollege experience? This answer is simple. Obviously, you cannot become a doctor without going to medical school. Is one with the uncollege experience able to attend medical school easily? Of course not! Prerequisites and certain GPA’s and lots of other requirements are necessary to get into Medical School, for example at UB. And when employers seek potential employees, resumes are not the only thing that will get you hired, how well you demonstrate your abilities is what can get you hired in the professional work fields; thus college is the way to go to get the full benefits.

Dale Stephens states, “there are a little over 19 million college students in the United States, each of whom are graduating with an average of $24, 000 in debt.” I agree with Dale Stephens’ idea, in fact I’m sure many people can agree to this idea. However, although Dale Stephens may object that college is expensive, I maintain that college is essential for success in life and people should not avoid college. College is in high use of creativity, in which it allows students to be independent from the standard rules followed throughout their previous years of schooling. In high school, teachers stick to the curriculum and the exams test on how well students understood the material covered in the textbooks. Unfortunately, the exams do not test how well the students can deal with real world situations in life.  However, in college, most subjects such as chemistry, or physics, go beyond what is covered in textbooks and relate the lesson to real-world applications. College does not mean memorizing facts and figures, but rather building the skills and qualities you need to learn, think, and create on your own. In other words, college’s main goal is to prepare students for career success. College takes us on journeys to freedom and independence, allowing each individual to take their desired path of success to reach their destination, or preferred work field. Each day in college, students are building new skills that they may not be aware of until later on in life when it becomes necessary out in the real world. Such skills include interacting, networking, communicating, creativity, and even globalization. Moreover, college is definitely worthwhile for our future success in life.

Ideas for Assignment #4

I think for my paper for assignment #4, I want to talk about problems within the education system. From my own experiences, I think it would be a good idea to focus my paper specifically on problems within New York State’s Education system. I would argue that this system is the cause for the loss of creativity. My paper would focus on Standardized testing vs. Authentic Assessement. Throughout my four years in high school, each course’s main objective was to prepare us for the regents exam, so teachers had to base their lessons according to the textbooks and what was planned in their curriculum. For example, my Junior Year in high school,  the regents exam forAlegbra 2/Trigonomtrey was new, so we were the first class to take the exam for this course. With so much to cover in so litle time,  a new lesson was taught everyday. My teacher wanted to make sure we went through all the material that would be tested on the exam, so he could not spend more than a day on a lesson. As a result, the average for the exam was low and nearly 10 percent of the juniors in my school passed. On the other hand, if the system was based on authenic assessment, students would be engaged with the lessons if it taught them skills and gave them knowledge that can be applied both in school and out of school(the real world). This then would enchance students’ creativity in many skills that are essential for success in life. Therefore, I would agree with the idea that schools kill creavitiy. However, I would maintain that the schooling system from middle school to high school is the problem, but college does not kill creativity. College allows students to be independent and take their own path of success with various opportunities and hands-on experiences. I would conclude, that college is not the problem for the loss of creativity and thus people should attend college inorder to be successful in life.

Birkstein-Graff: Argument Template #2

The general agrument made by Dale Stephens in his work,” The Case Against College”, is that high school students should explore more options other than college because all students come out with huge debts to pay. More specifically,he argues that college kills creativity. He writes, “The problem is that schools kill creativity.” Dale Stephens is arguing that schools deprive students of creativity and therefore does not prepare them for the real world, thus people should not go to college. In conclusion, his belief is that people can still become successful without attending college.

In my view Dale’s ideas are correct because there is more than one path for success and not everyone fits in the same path as others. More specifically, I believe experience from the outside world expands people’s creativity and allows them to gain knowledge and become successful in life in a different way. For example, you dont need to go to college to open up your own business. Although Dale Stephens might object that schools takes away people’s creativity and is a waste of time, I maintain that in today’s society, college is necessay because there is a a competitive job-seeking system that mainly looks for employees with degress. Therefore, I conclude, that school is one pathway that should be taken because it will educate and prepare people well for the real world job market.

Genre Ideas

A genre is a type of literary work that s characterized by a particular form, style, or purpose. There are lots of different genres: http://www.webbervilleschools.org/district/curriculuminstruction/elementary/ela/PDF%20ELA%20Curriculum/Reading/Literary%20Genres.pdf. Some examples of genre for tassignment #3 include: fables, parables, fairytales,  dialogues, or graphic novella.

A fable is defined as a fictitious narrative or statement; a story not founded on fact.

A parable is defined as a story or narrative told to convey a moral or spiritual lesson or insight.

A fairytale is defined as an unreal or incredible story; or falsehood.

A dialogue is defined as a literacy work in the form of a conversation between two or more persons.

A graphic novella is a genre in which a character based on yourself or someone you know finds him/herself in a situation, such as worried about being able to pay off student loans. 

Personally, I think this will be a tough assignment because I have never written a narrative in these ways. I am not sure yet as to what genre I want to choose, however, I do feel comfortable writing narratives so I think the best genre for this assignment for me would be a  graphic novella or a parable. I think it would be easier to base a story on my own experiences because as an actual student, I have the “priviledged standpoint,” to bring the readers inside the moment-to-moment life of an acual student. Based on our own experiences, it would be easier to convey a a moral of the story. Here are examples of parables, such as The Boy Who Cried Wolf:http://www.ehow.com/list_6563977_examples-parables-literature.html.

“Essentialism”

Essentialism is the idea that traditional customs, ideas, and skills are essential to society. This definition also states that these traditional concepts should be taught to all students. The article, “Essentialism and Experience”,  goes more in depth on this topic. In this article, there are examples of essentialism in the classroom. For example, the privledged location, the unique mixture of experimential and analytical ways of learning, is the  most important location from which on can gain knowledge. In other words, this idea is conveying how experience is important in the learning process and can deepen classroom discussions. Thus, sharing personal experiences in the classrooms give each individual a distinctive voice. Overall, the combinaion of the analytical and the experiemential is a broadens and expands our way of knowing and learning.

Indeed, this text was difficult to read and fully understand, however, it discusses a very interesting topic. After analyzing it at a slower pace, I was able to grasp an understanding of the main ideas.

Close Reading

Based on the aricle, “How to do a close reading,” the definition of close reading is to observe facts and detalis about a text. The first step is to observe, and the second step is to interpret your observations. Annotating or highlighting key words and phrases is one way to begin observing the text. When we annotate and write notes, we are paying attention to what the author is writing. Next, it is important to look for patterns such as repititions, contradictions, and similiarities throughout the whole passage. Finally, it is a good idea to ask questions about the patterns we recognized, such as how or why something happened in the text.

According to Dr. McClennen’s Close Reading Guide(http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/s/a/sam50/closeread.htm), the definiton of close reading is to develop a deep understanding and precise interpretation of a passage that is based on the words themselves. Writing a close reading involes the following steps: understanding what the passage is about, note interesting connations of words, examing the structure of the passage, recognize any pattern or similiarites in the whole passage, examine the arrangement of words  in the sentences, determine the speaker’s tone, relate all details and interpretations to possible themes throughout the passage, and write a thesis statement that ties the deatails and interpretations together.

I found this source really helpful because it gives a guide on how to do a close reading, and how the essay should be formatted!

Flipping the classroom!

So our last class, we did an activity to come up with new classroom systems, like the Khan Academy. Instead of flipping our math class, we had to come up with ideas to change our english class. As it turned out, changing an average english class was more difficult to do then an average math class, because most professors use the same methods of teaching in math classroom . For example, most professors give a lecture in class and assign questions to do for homework. However, I feel that it is more difficult to change an english class because most professors do things their own way. I feel that there is no standard way of teaching an english class, because every profressor has their own way of teaching a lesson. For example, some professors might assign the reading for homework and then discussions in class, whereas, some might read together in class, and do refection questions at home. Overall i felt that this activity was more difficult than I had anticipated it to be.

The Khan Academy

This was a really interesting passage to read. AAfter reading this passage, I actually went on the website to check it out! However, there were some ideas that I agreed with and some that I disagreed with.agree with. One idea that I agreed with is “the idea to invert the normal rhythms of school, so that lectures are viewed on the kids own and homework is done at school.” I think this is a good idea because when teachers assign readings for homework the day before class, the day of class they actually reteach what we just read at home. Focusing on lectures at home and doing homework in school is a good idea because this saves more time to help the students with any questions they are unsure of. When we are given homework assignments and get stuck on one question, who do we ask for help? When doing homework at home, not everyone has someone to help them with questions they dont understand. However, spending class time on assignments really ensures that everyone in the class, is on the right track. I also agree when teachers complain about the work pace in the class. If someone is advanced, the lesson is boring and then they stop paying attention. The videos on the website are a good way for students to get one-on-one attention help. This is an important factor in the learning process, because not everyone learn the same way, which brings me to my next point. I disagree with the idea that these videos help all students advance. Not everyone have the same type of learning style. For example, these videos would be most useful for auditory and visual learners, who learn best when listening or viewing the information.. But those who are kinesthic are not advancing by this system because their learning style ivolves real life and hands-on learning experiences. Overall, this learning system has both positive and negatives sides.