Pre Reading Blog for the last time!

It has been quite an experience I will have to say, as I have now completed almost two semesters of writing with Jason it has been a good experience. I would hope that others would agree in my writing skills and how they have been honed into constructive uses rather than just arguments. Jacoby has certainly done a little of that for me this semester, for the most part she has left me infuriated and outraged from the beginning. However, to my surprise as I have tied very hard to listen carefully and in fact I feel that I have learned a lot from reading Jacoby's book. I was always told that until you understand the opponents standpoint you cannot argue your standpoint effectively. Having said that I still don't agree with Jacoby on most things but I do know what I believe in a whole lot more from learning to understand the lefts viewpoint of this society and country that seems to be rolling like a snowball headed for hell.

Critical Thinking #3

The current popular culture is centered directly around technology and the positives and the negatives that it can bring with it. The popular culture that surrounds the youth of today is filled with appalling lyrics to songs, easy access to the internet that houses all sorts of problems for our youth, and television and movies that make all this degrading material and lifestyle seem natural and healthy. I can not believe that parents let their young children both male and female listen to and watch the things that main stream media are coming up with and marketing to these easily persuaded youth. In the past popular culture has always been present however, it may not have seemed to be so potent to our youth, popular culture has taken it to the next level of pushing the envelop to see what is acceptable to society. Movements in today’s popular culture are those focusing on using technology to the absolute fullest potential of what it is that a company or business needs to sell their product to youth whether it is music, movies, alcohol, tobacco, sex, and even drugs. I try to not be a part of the culture that is popular, I listen to old country music, and since my wife and I had our first child it has been a long time since we watched a movie. The closest I am to this new culture is by being a advisor for FFA students and encouraging them to make good decisions that won’t hurt their goals and life ambitions.

Pre Reading Blog Unit 3

Popular culture! What hasn't popular culture touched and influenced today? I don't think there is anything that popular culture hasn't touched. I will go towards the side of our schools, since I work directly with agriculture students whom you may think wouldn't be influenced by popular culture. Wrong, they are affected just as any other student in today's education system. They are influenced by the media and film industry, it is asthonishing to think but I have had a problem with minors having sexual intercourse at the school farm in which I manage. I graduated from this school just 5 years ago and we would have never thought of doing something like that at our school farm. But today it is portrayed to be dangerous and rebellious to do inappropriate things in public places. The school does not even worry about kids smoking anymore they have given up on that fight instead they now spend their time chasing the harder drugs. What has caused the change in the schools attitude and the students behaviors? I do blame a lot of it on the main stream media, music, movies, etc. It is apalling to listen to some of the new music that has come out, I personally listen to old country where men respect women. But not this new rap crap, hell they might as well be raping these women in the song lyrics, and to think our 12 year old boys are listening to this. Put two and two together and answer the question of why domestic violence and rape statistics are on the rise?

Critical Thinking #2

It can definetly be a heated argument over creation versus evolution. It has always been clear to me because of my strong religious upbringing. I have never even really thought of evolution to be an option. The underlying factor for myself is that I habe a faith in something of a greater power. How was the earth created if man evolved from apes? Who put the apes here? Those would be the questions I would ask the followers of evolution. What happens when we die? This is where faith comes in to play. Faith is believing with out seeing, and by all means I have faith in my Lord for he created the world in six days and on the seventh he rested cakking it the sabath a day of worship and relaxing. For many years growing up my father would take it easy on Sunday the sabath, and I always begged for him to go play with me or do fun activities. But now that I have a family of my own it is very nice to have the sabath the day of rest and recooperation from the week, the old man wasn't so dumb after all. As my grandfather always says "I know what it is like to be young, but you have no idea what it is like to be old."

Pre Reading Blog #2

To be honest I have never really heard the word used or understand the word psuedoscience. But it must have something to do with the battle of religion and the evolution v. creation battle. For me i will never go to the evolution side because of my faith in the Lord, not that I don't care to learn about the other sides argument. I feel that both sides of an argument are important and that to be a good debater you must know the oppositions standpoint well. Jacoby definetly leans towards the side of evolution, she fights for the evolution battle arguing that anti-intellectuals have ruined the chances of evolution to ever be a valid point. Because of the fundmentalist religions the public school system does not teach evolution. I don't believe that it is a bad thing, left wingers all argue to keep religion separate from any form of gov't. or public agency. If we let evolution into the school systems isn't that letting a form of religion into gov't. or public agency.

Critical Thinking Blog #1

I feel that critical thinking is a process that you may go through on certain things or decisions may be the better word. A situation in which I felt like I thought critically is the decision on whether or not to move out of state to Colorado just three days after my wedding. I did a lot of research and analysis of where we were going and what we planned to do there. A lot of times I feel that I use my best critical thinking skills when I use a pro and con approach to a decision.
As for a situation in which I did not use critical thinking skills is when my wife became pregnant with our son. Let me clear things briefly, I will never say that my son was a mistake because he wasn’t however he wasn’t necessarily planned. I would not change it for all the money in the world, oh wait there is no money left. There might have been a better time for us to grow our family but this is working out just fine.
Intellectualism use to have a good or positive connotation for me but, now that I have begun reading the assigned novel, I am purely disgusted with intellectuals or so they think. I am mortified at the belief of this crazed woman that insists that the word folks should only be used by backwoods, one toothed, f*****n idiots. This is appalling I am a man of western descent or you might say rural lifestyle. I have never met a nicer more hospitable group of people than those who choose the rural or western lifestyle. Frankly the flippin morons she refers to have zero social skills and lack a key survival trait called “common sense.” My grandfather always referred to them as educated idiots. Sorry to be so negative but this book has really gotten under my skin.

Randy's Pre-Writing Blog #1

I am not a traditional student by the standard stereotype. I am 22 years old, I have been married for 3 years and I have an amazing son named Cooper who is getting ready to celebrate his first birthday this coming week. College has been hit and misses for me. I went to college straight from high school mainly to be able to Rodeo for a college team in Casper, WY. After I got hurt (8 months in to the first season) I returned home and before long I married my high school sweetheart. I went to work in the construction industry where I worked as an Underground utilities foreman prior to the economy taking a shit. When the building boom ended our sector of the construction industry was one of the first to go. When I was laid off I decided to go back to school and finish a degree that I started a few years ago. Now I am just about finished with my associate’s degree and have landed a job that is a foot in the door with SMUD the local utility company. This is exciting for me since my dad has been with SMUD for 22 years and I know what kind of opportunity this is for me.

The problem that I face now is whether or not to continue on and complete the original goal of a bachelor’s degree in agriculture or to pursue a career with SMUD?