I would like to do a video on iMovie for my remix project. I can take videos from Youtube of different schools with a dual curriculum to best show it, and I think I would do voice-over. I would make it on one hand, a contrast between the two languages, but on the other hand, show how they are used together
I want to write my research paper about how children that are gifted and talented should receive extra resources, and programs should be funded by the government in order for them to receive their properly targeted education.
Another idea that I would possibly want to write would be that the teaching of a second language to children at young ages is beneficial i the long run, and there are many studies and statistics that can help with this argument.
Education has a very high value in my family. College was not an option, and grades are always expected to be high.
Both of my parents are college graduates, and I didn’t really have a choice in whether I would attend college or not. I think that if I would have had a choice, I still would have chosen to go to college, because I highly value education myself and enjoy learning, but my values are obviously influenced by those of my family.
I grew up speaking and writing English as my first language, so that has not been a challenge for me. My parents are the parents who corrected my grammar mistakes all my life, and questioned my usage of words and phrases such as “That’s so random.” I know that it’s affected me because I correct everyone else’s grammar mistakes in my head all the time, and am probably more careful about the words I choose to use.
I also grew up taking a dual curriculum in Hebrew and English, both at home and at school. In school, the morning classes were always in Hebrew, and the afternoon classes were in English. And at home, although we didn’t speak Hebrew, we weave Hebrew words into our English conversations at all times.
My parents put a lot of emphasis on high achievements, and on succeeding in everything. I think that that has highly influenced many aspects of my own work ethics and values.
I grew up speaking English and only English, so I don’t relate to Amy Tan in that way. But my educational and familial background has always been a dual curriculum: Hebrew and English. It meant class went to 5 pm, and the curriculum contained 20 classes at once, always. It was a great, and I loved it, but it also meant there was an added extra stress. Or 20 of them. A dual curriculum meant one period I was writing in Hebrew, and the next in English, and after that I was back to Hebrew again. It was different than a typical schooling experience. When I came to apply for college, there were classes on my transcript that the people who were looking at it couldn’t read, let alone pronounce.
While there is nothing in my situation that could have been thought of as a language barrier, or handicap, I think that in the same way that mine was a privilege and advantage, so was hers. Part of the beauty of living in America, is that most people are dual-cultured. We have the incredible privilege of being fortunate to be part of both the American culture, and the culture of our ancestral links. America wasn’t founded until 1776. Even if someone can trace their ancestors back to the first immigrants, there is still a traceable lineage before that. And it’s important to recall that both are integral parts of our lives.
Speaking a different language is not a handicap- its an advantage. It gives you yet another language and culture and lifestyle to be proud of.
I found that this paper addressed a very important issue. I have many times asked a friend to look over my paper, hoping to hear honest and helpful feedback. But oftentimes people are too afraid to hurt my feelings and end up saying “It’s great! Don’t change anything!” But that doesn’t actually help me at all. My feelings are not gonna be hurt, and I would much rather receive helpful feedback as to actually improve my work. On the other hand, there are some people that don’t even consider the writers feelings and completely take apart the entire essay, rewriting it instead of suggesting revisions.
I also liked the suggestion of both writing in the margins and adding a post it at the end with more comments. The post it is a good place to put both positive comments, and issues that are overall and important and need to be addressed, and the margins are good for adressssing te smaller things to revise.
My first idea is to write my paper on the novel and Broadway show, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” a story about an autistic boy which has really brought autism into the spotlight.
My second option is to write about the CBS show Scorpion, a show based on a real man named Walter O’Brein, who has the fourth highest IQ ever recorded and created a company for geniuses like him to work together on projects that are essentially saving and changing the world.
The title of the piece” Letter to My Nephew” should imply that the audience is James’s uncle, James. But, in fact, I think that the audience is in fact much more broad then just his nephew. He is speaking to the entire younger generation, as an older person with the thoughts and experiences and opinions that no one in this new generation would have. He is speaking as a voice from his generation, trying to impart a message into his nephew, and the people of his generation.
The exigence of this piece falls in with it’s kairos, the timing of when it was written and published. It’s the year 1963, exactly one hundred years since the emancipation proclamation. And as Baldwin points out, although that should imply 100 years of freedom, it unfortunately does not.
Baldwin speaks (writes) with passion as he tries to make many arguments to his nephew. One such argument is that he should not fall to being a victim, and he should not allow stereotypes and society to get to him. The only way he can, and will be defeated, is if he lets society’s insults actually insult him. But if he is strong enough, he can allow himself not to be taken down by that.
Baldwin also tries displaying the message that his nephew, and his generation, should find room in their hearts in order to forgive, and accept the White people with compassion. Because while the lack of compassion that they have for the Black community may have been the start of the tension and problems, the lack of compassion and forgiveness that the Black community has back is preventing that tension and problems from ever being solved.
Baldwin made very good use of metaphors in this piece, one which I found very strong, was when his nephew was born and he said the world looked Black to him. This could be interpreted as a world with problems, a world with darkness, but it could also be interpreted as a world of only Black people, and no integration and acceptance.
As this is a very emotional subject, Baldwin definitely uses Pathos to play to the emotions of the readers, and he also uses his own emotions greatly. Ethos also comes into play, because the writer actually lived through the times which he is talking about, and has more experience than the generation which he is addressing, he is showing his credibility.
This was my first time reading this piece, and I thought it was brilliant and extremely well written. The emotion with which Baldwin writes makes the reader feel engrossed and personally connected.
What I thought was most meaningful about the piece is that the author, the uncle, repeatedly tells his nephew that he cannot be defeated unless he lets everyone’s comments get to him. It is an extremely powerful message- we are in control of our own emotions and reactions. We are in control of our position. Other people might be trying to knock us down, but we are only knocked down if we let them knock us down. They can’t do it without our permission.
Another part that I found brilliant was when he said “they are trapped in a history that they do no no understand, and until they understand, they cannot be released from it.” I found this metaphorical language comparing the history to a prison- something that they are trapped in- very strong.
It also lends to the topic because it makes a comparison to the fact that the African Americans were trapped- trapped in the positions they were thrown into, trapped in slavery, and trapped in the stereotypes of society. But although the the White people seem to have been the free ones- not in slavery of any sort, they are too, trapped. There are all kinds of trapped- and in this case, it may not be a physical imprisonment, but rather, being trapped in the racist history of their ancestors.
Going even further, this lends to common ground between the two groups. While one may have been the slaves, and one the slaveowners, they are both trapped in the same history, and both are having a hard time being released.
Exigence- The exigence of this Apple ad is the need for something new. It brings forth the problem of all computer and technology being bland and similar, and how that needs to change.
Audience- The audience are the viewers of the SuperBowl, and the target audience of Apple would be people who want to buy computers, but want to buy something new. It is also expected that the audience has some knowledge of
I liked this piece because it was short, sweet, and to the point. it managed to summarize rhetoric very well and explain it very clearly. I also found that the diagrams were a very good aid in understanding what the piece was getting across. The triangle helped bring to life the concept of ethos, logos, and pathos, and even the chart helped me understand the concept better. It also made it very applicable to my life- talking straight to the reader, for example “You know how to use language to get things done.”
Although there may be people who are paid to be critics of art, and of literacy, and of theatre and film, in truth, we are all critics by nature. We are all creative personalities, and we all, therefore, have a way of analyzing and judging the creative works of others. We are given a lot of information- the world is in front of us, and we are to accept it. But if we don’t filter what comes through our senses in terms of criticism, we will not be able to appreciate any of it.
I very much agree with Scott’s points about criticism. We all have to be open to be criticized by others, for criticism is a natural reaction that each of our brain’s preforms constantly. I thought it was especially interesting to hear about criticism from a person whose profession is to criticize formally that which many have seen, and criticized on their own.
I thought that it was interesting that he brought in the internet in connection to criticism. While we have always had our thoughts and opinions about everything, literally everything, around us, we usually keep them to ourselves, or at best, let the few around us know. However, with the burst of the internet, this has changed. People can now post their thoughts and feelings about pretty much anything on the internet- for all the world to see, and thus impact how they form their opinions.
I believe that we all have an inner critic- our immediate judgments and criticisms, that little voice that decides if we like this sandwich or that song. But in a world where everyone is a critic- and more importantly, where everyone is a critic with a virtual voice speaking to the world online- our personal thoughts can get easily confused and impacted by those of the ones around us, and the people that we watch their thoughts and opinions.
Amazon’s Coming After Game Companies
This headline is a great example of metaphors playing into our lives. Amazon isn’t literally coming after gaming companies, in fact, it is most definitely ahead of the gaming companies. But figuratively- Amazon is “coming after” gaming companies. It is chasing them, attempting to attack them, and most importantly, passing them. This metaphor helps show the competition of this market. It is not simply two, or multiple, companies producing multiple products. The market is a fast paced, attack filled, race. And in this particular case, by creating a new interface/product for gamers and gaming purposes, Amazon is figuratively “coming after” game companies. I thought that this headline was a great use of metaphors in real life- and showing how the use of this language actually impacts the way we view this concept in the world.
This article by Emily Martin really fascinated me. I don’t really have much of an interest in biology, but if I did, I do not think I would have noticed this apparent stereotype towards the male and female reproductive systems. It connects closely with Lakoff and Johnson’s Metaphors We Live By. The words used when referring to the egg, or to the sperm, although at the surface, are just words, create an image, and thereby a mindset, in which to consider the actual egg and sperm. I found the strongest example of this to be that women are considered “wasteful” for the amount of eggs produced considering the potential amount, while men, whose sperm potential is far greater than that of a woman’s egg potential, is not considered wasteful.
However, I differ in opinion in that I do not think that this is connected to the stereotypes of men and women in general. While I do believe that Martin’s argument about the way we view the reproductive processes of women in a negative light, and that of men in a much more positive light, I do not think that these stereotypes lend into the stereotypes of men and women in general. It’s undeniable that such stereotypes are present, but I think that that has another source. If anything, the stereotype of men and women in general has affected and impacted the stereotypes of their reproductive systems, not vice versa.
I thought that Martin’s ending about the “sleeping metaphors” was brilliant. She makes a point that these metaphors are not dead, but sleeping, and we have the power to wake them up. And while I agree that we have that power, and it may impact humanity’s views of the reproductive system, I do not think that it will impact the stereotypes that our society has of men and women in general.
There has been an ongoing debate about whether language shapes our culture, and the way we think, or whether our culture shapes our language, and the way we speak.
I have learned previously that language actually shapes the culture, and the way we think, and there are many ways to prove it. For example, there is a culture that has no sense of time, no past, no present, and no future, in their language. This shapes the way they live in more than just their conversation. They are living for the moment, not worrying about the past or about the future.
Our language is filled with metaphors. It’s undeniable that so much of the common things we say are figurative, and cannot actually be taken literally. It’s the reason that English is so hard to learn as a new language, and that it is sometimes impossible to translate our phrases into a different language.
It, as Lakoff and Johnson’s piece proves, shapes our reality and our world. The examples that they give, “Argument is War” and “Time is Money” are just two of the many, many examples that show that metaphors are not just what we use to speak, but how we shape the way we think and act.
By comparing time to money, we are creating a society that values time as money, as a commodity that is valuable. We then are careful with how we “spend” it, are careful not to “waste” it, and may even “invest” it.
The reality is that while metaphors may begin as literary tools, but the language that we speak creates our world- our reality. English is a language of metaphors, confusing ones sometimes. And therefore, English speakers live in a world of metaphors.
Hi, I am Rebecca Klamen and I’m a second semester Freshman at Baruch. I plan on majoring in I/O Psychology, which I am very excited about.. I live in New Jersey, so that’s a pretty fun commute 😉 . I’m from New Jersey, and I commute every day, but I love being in school in New York City. I enjoy simply walking through the streets and seeing the millions of people… and constantly discovering new things.
https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/rebeccaeng2150/