Workshop Reflection: Visual Analysis

The advice that I received from everyone in my group was no first person. Ooops. Well I missed the previous class so I had no idea. So that's the first thing that I need to fix. I know I have a few grammatical errors and sentence structure problems.
Both MC and X really challenged the ideas I already had towards the images. But they took it and hit the ground running and I think that's whats going to make my visual analysis so much stronger.
The most helpful advice I received is is about one of my pictures. Its about the gesture one of the people is making and I think its really going to add to WHY my comic is so perfect.
Obviously the least helpful advice I received was to do my paper in first person. Cause I should have done it anyways. Even though its going to change my paper dramatically, the context wont.
My plans for revision are to first get rid of anything first person. And then take MC and X's advice and say more of why things are the way they are in my comic, instead of jus describing everything about my comic and letting the audience come to their own conclusion.

Visual Analysis- Public School Vs Private School

Madeline Allen

Megan Keaton

02/25/13

English

Public School Vs. Private School

I can always remember the on going conversations between my mom and my best friends mom jabbering about public and private schools and how much better or worse the other one was. The funny thing is, neither ever had anything good to say about the school me or logan went to. Logan went to a private school and I went to a public school. What I want to know, are the differences in teaching styles and techniques, interaction with other students and how differently students learn to think a private schools.

The first comic is two students talking about the differences in public school and private school. It’s is split up into two pictures. The first part shows the boy throwing all his papers, books and pencils in the air saying “WOOHOO! Summer 2012! And I don’t have to go back to school until October!” and a girl responds to say “How is it that private school kids have so little SCHOOL? Three-week vacations, five-month summers...” The second part of the picture is a zoomed in view of the boy who says “What did you think we were paying for?” 

Clearly this picture is belittling private schools. For many reasons, other than choice of diction and syntax, this picture makes private school seem easy. 

First: their clothing. The boy is dressed in a nice and neat uniform, his shirts untucked but he still has on a tie and his hair is gelled neatly. He has a knapsack, thats probably leather. The girl is in what looks like sweat pants which are her school colors of course, and a t-shirt with a paw print in the center or it. Her hair is pulled up into a pony-tail and she has a book bag on her back. Their clothing obviously depicts the difference between public school kids and private school kids. 

The choice of syntax the girl uses in this comic is so subtle that I didn't even catch it when I first read it. She says “so little SCHOOL,” suggesting that kids who go to private schools do very little school at school. After that the boys response says “What did you think we were paying for?”  So i’m a little confused, are they paying the school, to go to school less? His hand is extended out with his palm facing upward as if to motion “its no big deal.” 

The background of this comic is all red. I really am not sure why. My best guess is that red is vibrant, and catches the eye, making more people drawn to the comic so that they will read it.

The main idea of this comic is that private schools are very expensive, and do go to less school days than public schools. The comics purpose is to make you think: Is private school really the right choice for my child?

The Second comic leans to the other side of my paper. Public schools deal with a very important problem, lack of funding. In this picture it shows a man in a suit busting through a classroom door saying “Good morning! Due to state budget cuts your teacher has been removed. Who would like to teach class today?” The children are all looking around with huge and confused eyes. They look shocked.

The children are in desks and they are in rows facing the teachers desk. This is the most popular format of a class room. This makes it relatable to much more people. The desk at the front of the room shows the sad empty chair sitting at the front of the class. The very black blackboard is right behind it, this also makes it more relatable. It stands out against the very white floor. 

The man is dressed in a nice suit with a red tie, which is why I suggested that he was the principal. His face is all smiley, like what he is saying to these children isn’t terrible at all. The face that stands out most is the kid in the front of the classroom. His head is turned away from the principal, with his eyes and mouth wide open. I know the feeling cause I’ve done this before. Anytime you cannot hide your reaction, especially if its a reaction from someone of authority, you turn around. This poor boy, at the front of the room, most likely inferring that he’s the teachers pet, just found out his favorite person on this earth will no longer be teaching him. 

Even though this picture is fiction, and there would usually be a substitute, the words that the principal says, is whats meant to stand out. The key words being “State Budget.”  State budgets for education are often a popular topic come election time. That is because the majority of children are in public schools, and everyone, including parents whose children go to private school, pay for public school.

 I’m not positive the creator of this comic is someone who is for private schools, however those who look at it can easily be led to believe that if their child goes to a public school their education may not be properly funded. In a private school that will never be the case. Your paying what is usually a high amount to make sure your child gets everything he may need. 

It all comes down to what you want for your child, and how much money you are willing to spend to make sure their school lives up to your standards.

The Key to Success Comic

A Picture is worth a thousand words right? I used to think that saying was weird until I started photography and we started having class discussions about everyones pictures.

In a picture, there is an old key, laid on top of a piece of paper with the word "SUCCESS" written on it. Obviously its depicting that famous saying that have different endings but all starts with "The key to success is.."

When I started to really analyze this piece I first noticed the key. Its a very old key. My childhood best friend who collected keys, called this type of key, a princess key. You can clearly see old marks on it like its been through wear and tear. Also the end of it is a loop, not like the kind that fits on a key chain, its much too old for that. Maybe it opens a chest, something other than just a door. You can tell this key is special. Maybe they chose a old key because usually older people are much more wise, its saying that the older you get the more wise you are, the better chance of finding this "key to success."

The next thing I noticed was the typed paper of success. I wonder why they chose to type it out, much less its written in all capital letters, maybe to make it more bold and empowering. Another thing about the paper is that its torn around the word, instead of just cut out. It makes me think that the unclean cut edges show the audience that success has an unclear definition, because we all define success differently. 

The last thing that my eye comes to are the shadows that are reflected across the table that its on. There is a clear white line that guides your eye from the bottom right corner to the top-middle of the picture. Almost creating a pathway with success running right through the light. Its almost saying "This way" and then the key, rested on top of the paper ends in the exact middle of the light, as if to say "heres the key," its handed right to you.

I think the main idea of this picture is to remind people who see this that there is a key to success, and its right there in front of your face with a light shining on it. However the shadows show that there is a path, just because you have the key, doesn't mean that you'll get there just by unlocking it.

Second Draft Yall!

Madeline Allen

Megan Keaton

English 112-12

February 6, 2013

Exploratory Proposal

What is it that makes a “good” school? Is it the teachers, or the students? Is it the amount of money funded to the school? Or the amount of time taken to learn the best way to pass a state test? Through articles and readings based on schools today, in America, what can we find that’s missing? And more importantly, what should change?

Because of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 the entire country thought funding for our schools would finally be fixed. Students pass the standard tests and test scores start to raise, then the title one school can finally get the funding it deserves (NCLB 2). Children should be tested right? They should all be created equal. Even the ones who barely make it to school because problems at home, outweigh the importance of school, in their parents eyes? They should be tested the same as children who live in a household where paying tuition, for their eight year old, every year is no problem? The level of equality was clearly not shown in President Bush’s eyes, when he passed this act.

Obviously testing must be in schools, but maybe funding shouldn't be based off of the performance of test scores. Teachers are beginning to teach students to just pass the test. Students can feel the pressure from the teachers; after all, it’s now the teacher’s job on the line. There isnt much I remember from middle school, but I do remember EOG day. I also remember having two weeks left of school after the test where we just watch movies and play games. All that mattered was that stupid test.

In a video from Ted.com called Why Standardized Testing Fails, Bob Sternburg talks about how Standardized Testing Started in the early 1900’s.” Tests like this are out of date (Sternburg). We are using the same education techniques we used in a time where blacks drank from different water fountains as whites, much less didn't go to the same schools whites did. No computers were even remotely anywhere near being invented, and college was only for those who didn’t want to go to war. Times have changed, but this standardized testing is till around. Why?

“Test scores match socio-economic level” (Sternburg). What another lovely problem. “In working class schools, work is following the steps to a procedure” (Anyon 2). So children listen and do what they are told, maybe by reading along in class and then answering questions directly from the text. But, in “affluent professional schools, school work is a creative activity carried out independently” (Anyon 6). Children in these schools are learning the same content, but doing activities in different ways. Most likely in working class schools children are bored of following procedures and steps. However in affluent schools children are able to be creative: a much less boring lesson. They are taught to be independent in their studies; they can take these skills home and use them in their study techniques. I know something as small as learning a certain way and carrying it out one or two times may not be a big deal. But if every day you are learning this way, it can make a big impact on how you think as an adult. Everyday these students wake up, listen to the teacher talk, follow the steps on a worksheet, finish the lesson and never think about it again. They don’t think about it again, because they hate learning. I know, because I was the exact same way.

I cannot relate to different types of creativity in classes like Math, English, and History, however I took three levels of photography and art. In these classes we were able to almost pick the lesson activity or exercise we did. More often than not, the teacher would talk about a famous artist in history, we would learn the techniques they used and put it down onto a canvas, or paper, or even into clay. Given a few guidelines, art teachers wound us up and let us run with our ideas. We were able to learn the history of art and connect it to ways we learn today. Often times they would play music, which was a huge treat. I used to think of my art classes as an escape from “real school,” but I was still really learning. I remember the bell would ring and I would be sad. In other classes, I’d look at the clock more than the teachers face. How can we make children sad, when the bell rings in history class?

Everyone likes thinking on their own, and doing their own thing, why teach children to be the same, by answering all the same questions that only have one right answer. Obviously it’s hard to teach creativity in classes like social studies and math, but instead of cramming dates and places into their heads, why don’t we start asking different questions. Instead of asking “when did the civil war start?” we should ask “WHY do you think the civil war started?” Or in math, insteaad of asking “what’s the answer to number three?” we should ask “How did you get the answer to number three?” Using their own words to explain, and having their own ideas, they will actually begin to teach themselves and learn on a higher level.

Anthony Browne wrote an article called Creativity in Schools, Every Story Needs a Picture. In it, he explains his time at a school, “Where children are two years further ahead in their reading compared to those in other schools.” These children are coming to the stage where they are encouraged to begin reading “chapter books” instead of picture books (Browne 2). Browne then makes an incredibly excellent point. The illustrations children see in books are some of the first pictures they see, and these continually frowned upon picture books can really help a child. A child takes in everything they learn at a young age (2). “If Children are encouraged to think that pictures are for babies and that to become educated is to leave images behind and concentrate purely on words, we risk creating a country of visually illiterate adults,” says Browne(2).

In a video called Schools Kill Creativity, Ken Robinson tells a heart touching story about how a Woman named Jillian Lynn, who was thought to have a learning disorder. They said she was too fidgety in schools. She was sent to a doctor and he asked her a ton of questions. He then decided to talk to Jillian’s mother outside of the room, but first turned on the radio on his desk. He then asked the mother to watch. Within minutes Jillian was on her feet dancing. The doctor said, “Mrs. Lynn, your daughter doesn't have a learning disorder, she is a dancer.” She then auditioned for the royal ballet, became a multi-millionaire and produced the famous musical CATS. “Somebody else might have put her on medication, and told her to calm down” (Robinson). Is that what we’re doing to our children now? Telling them to calm down, when they could quite possibly be the next Jillian Lynn?

I cannot picture a world where human beings aren’t creative. More often than not, the most influential people in the world are also the most creative. Students who are constantly taught to read and answer questions, and just get by because the questions are word for word from a textbook, are less likely to get a higher paying job. Students who think for themselves are challenged and like being challenged, so they continue that way of thinking. These students become the owners, managers and bosses of the companies that the students who master a simple worksheet, work for.

I want to research if qualities can be taught in schools. How do learning techniques and lack of funding affect who a child, when they become an adult. Do private schools really put better graduates into the world? Are people who attended schools that offer more creative classes such as dancing, acting, art and music, better and well-rounded people? What is better? Creativity in classes? Or standardized Testing so we’re all equal, and we can all be measured in a way that getting into college might be easier? What if students are bad test takers, yet understand the concepts?

Should we be taught to pass a test? Or should we learn to be creative, to solve anything life throws at us?

Works Cited

Anyon, Jean. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” Journal of Education.
       Vol. 162, no. 1 (1980).

Browne, Anthony. The Gaurdian. Web. 29 Jun2009
       http://www.gaurdian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/30/creativity-schools-children-laureate

NoChildLeftBehind.gov. “No Child Left Behind Act 2001.”

Considering Literacy: Reading and Writing The Educational Experience. Ed. Linda
        Adler-Kasser. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. 308-312. Print.

Robinson, Ken. “Schools Kill Creativity.” Ted.com. California. Feb 2006. Lecture.

Sternburg, Bob. “None of the Above-Why Standardized Testing Fails.” Ted.com. Oklahoma.

      3 Dec. 2012. Lecture.

Self Assessment Reflection

1. My goals for myself when writing this paper were to write something that wasn't a "yawn topic." When talking given education as a main theme for all of our papers, I just really wanted to stand out from the rest of the crowd. I think my essay sounds a little more like I'm headed for standardized testing and that's not what I'm striving for.
2. I had in my head the articles I wanted to talk about for awhile. I sat down the day before and just wrote everything out and pieced together connections between the articles. I felt like I had a lot of ideas, i just needed a way to get them to flow together.
3. My writing has grown a lot over the past year and I feel as though it is because I have changed over the years. I'm a lot more mature then I used to be, and my writing really reflects that. My peers gave me good advice that I took in writing the second draft of my paper. I never thought I'd like that before but it turned out to be completely in my benefit and definitely made my paper stronger as a result.
4. I wouldn't really say anyone helped contribute to my paper. I will say though that my best friend is my inspiration for the paper. She attended private school and it most likely the reason I feel so strongly against them.
5. I learned writing is something I'm good at if I dont fight it. In other words, I cant just put off writing something to do it in the last minute just to get a grade. If i just sit down and do it I can piece things together much better than I ever could before. Also others told me places I could improve my writing and things that were weird about my techniques.
6. I think the hardest part about this paper was not actually writing the paper. I didn't know what parts to put together and how on earth, I wasn't going to know what I was going to write about, until I wrote it. Does that even make sense? I was a little confused the whole time until I was actually finished. The ending was probably the easiest part cause I was able to tie all my thoughts in my head together.
7. I'm most proud of my argument about the girl who was a dancer, and didn't have ADD. I loved the story and I think it tied in well with where I wanted my paper to go. I just really wanted to prove people are different and that's I feel, is what did it.
8. I think I need to work on the standardized testing part. Maybe it doesnt belong? It just adds a good argument for the teachers who just teach to pass the test so I feel as though its still significant. I re-read it many times and decided it was better to have too much information that not enough.
9. My writing process is fairly simple. I just write and write and write. Then i put it together. and add my own opinions to add flow and tie everything together. I never every just start typing. I always write my paper by hand, then when I type it up I slowly go through it and understand where it might be that needs extra information, or what sentences dont make sense, anything like that.

Workshop Reflection

I am not gonna lie. I was in no way excited for this workshop thing. Before, I never liked when other students read my writing, but this really changed my perspective.

My advice:
MC-He said the number one thing I needed to do was to elaborate more on private schools, i.e. How they teach, their structure of classes and what makes them have higher test scores. He also brought up some other really great points about the social class article and ADD/ADHAD medication that really tie in to my essay really well. It was great to see a different perspective and what other topics are brought up into the readers mind when they read it.

Xavier-He has a completely different writing style than me. So he makes great points about word order and small ways to make my sentences sound much stronger. He really drove me to prove my topics and back up things I say about the past in schools and how different our beliefs were as humans. He would point out sentences and then tell me how I really need to elaborate more.

Joey-His essay is so different from mine, so he sounded really excited to talk about mine. He really wanted me to strive to back up my essay, along with what Xavier said. He also noticed sentences that really leave the reader wanting to know more about what I was trying to say. He believed that I should hit the ground running with each and every point I make.

The most helpful piece of advice I got was elaborating on the time when the first standardized test was made. It is one of my main points and adding more to why it is so old and how much we as human beings have changed is something I really need to elaborate.

I think all advice is good advice but the lowest of it is probably grammar mistakes.

The first thing I'm reviving on my essay is those silly little grammar mistakes. They are small and easy to fix and absolutely have to go! Next I have to research more about private schools, because other than what I've heard from a friend, I'm so clueless! Lastly I will elaborate more of every sentence where my group felt confused, and then add at least a paragraph on life in the 20's and how standardized testing just doesn't belong in our world anymore. Even though it isnt what I want to research I think schools are driven by standardized testing and I want to see the difference in schools that dont have it.

Exploratory Proposal

Madeline Allen

Megan Keaton

English 112-12

February 6, 2013

Exploratory Proposal

What is it that makes a “good” school? Is is the teachers, or the students? Is it the amount of money funded to the school? Or the amount of time taken to learn the best way to pass a state test? Through articles and readings based on schools today, in America, what can we find that’s missing? And more importantly, what should change?

Because of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 the entire world thought funding for our schools would be finally fixed. Students pass the standard tests and test scores start to raise, then the title one school can finally get the funding it deserves (NCLB 2). Children should be tested right? They should all be created equal. Even the ones who barely make it to school because problems at home, outweigh the importance of school, in their parents eyes? They should be tested the same as children who live in a household where paying tuition, for their eight year old, every year is no problem? The level of equality was clearly not shown in President Bush’s eyes, when he passed this act.

Obviously testing must be in schools, but maybe funding shouldn't be based off of the performance of test scores. Teachers are beginning to teach students to just pass the test. Students can feel the pressure from the teachers; after all, it’s now the teacher’s job on the line. There isnt much I remember from middle school, but I do remember EOG day. I also remember having two weeks left of school after the test where we just watch movies and play games. All that mattered was that stupid test.

In a video from Ted.com called Why Standardized Testing Fails, Bob Sternburg talks about how Standardized Testing Started in the early 1900’s.” Tests like this are out of date (Sternburg). We are using the same education techniques we used in a time where blacks drank from different water fountains as whites, much less didn't go to the same schools whites did. No computers were even remotely anywhere near being invented, and college was only for those who didn’t want to go to war. Times have changed, but this standardized testing is till around. Why?

“Test scores match socio-economic level” (Sternburg). What another lovely problem. “In working class schools, work is following the steps to a procedure” (Anyon 2). So children listen and do what they are told, maybe by reading along in class and then answering questions directly from the text. But, in “affluent professional schools, school work is a creative activity carried out independently” (Anyon 6). Children in these schools are learning the same content, but doing activities in different ways. Most likely in working class schools children are bored of following procedures and steps. However in affluent schools children are able to be creative: a much less boring lesson. They are taught to be independent in their studies; they can take these skills home and use them in their study techniques. I know something as small as learning a certain way and carrying it out one or two times may not be a big deal. But if every day you are learning this way it can make a big impact on how you think as an adult. Everyday these students wake up, listen to the teacher talk, follow the steps on a worksheet, finish the lesson and never think about it again. They don’t think about it again, because they hate learning. I know, because I was the exact same way.

I cannot relate to different types of creativity in classes like Math, English, and History, however I took three levels of photography and art. In these classes we were able to almost pick the lesson activity or exercise we did. More often than not, the teacher would talk about a famous artist in history, we would learn the techniques they used and put it down onto a canvas, or paper, or even into clay. Given a few guidelines, art teachers wound us up and let us run with our ideas. We were able to learn the history of art and connect it to ways we learn today. Often times they would play music, which was a huge treat. I used to think of my art classes as an escape from “real school,” but I was still really learning. I remember the bell would ring and I would be sad. In other classes, I’d look at the clock more than the teachers face. How can we make children sad, when the bell rings in history class?

Everyone likes thinking on their own, and doing their own thing, why teach children to be the same, by answering all the same questions that only have one right answer. Obviously its hard to teach creativity in classes like social studies and math, but instead of cramming dates and places into their heads, why don’t we start asking different questions. Instead of asking “when did the civil war start?” we should ask “WHY do you think the civil war started.” Or in math, insteaad of asking “what’s the answer to number three?” we should ask “How did you get the answer to number three?” Using their own words to explain, and having their own ideas, they will actually begin to teach themselves and learn on a higher level.

Anthony Browne wrote an article called Creativity in Schools, Every Story Needs a Picture. In it, he explains his time at a school, “where children are two years further ahead in their reading compared to those in other schools.” These children are coming to the stage where they are encouraged to begin reading “chapter books” instead of picture books (Browne 2). Browne then makes an incredibly excellent point. The illustrations children see in books are some of the first pictures they see, and these continually frowned upon picture books can really help a child. A child takes in everything they learn at a young age (2). “If Children are encouraged to think that pictures are for babies and that to become educated is to leave images behind and concentrate purely on words, we risk creating a country of visually illiterate adults,” says Browne(2).

In a video called Schools Kill Creativity, Ken Robinson tells a heart touching story about how a Woman named Jillian Lynn, who was thought to have a learning disorder. They said she was too fidgety in schools. She was sent to a doctor and he asked her a ton of questions. He then decided to talk to Jillian’s mother outside of the room, but first turned on the radio on his desk. He then asked the mother to watch. Within minutes Jillian was on her feet dancing. The doctor said, “Mrs. Lynn, your daughter doesn't have a learning disorder, she is a dancer.” She then auditioned for the royal ballet, became a multi-millionaire and produced the famous musical CATS. “Somebody else might have put her on medication, and told her to calm down” (Robinson). Is that what we’re doing to our children now? Telling the to calm down, when they could quite possibly be the next Jillian Lynn?

I cannot picture a world where human beings aren’t creative. More often than not, the most influential people in the world are also the most creative. Students who are constantly taught to read and answer questions,and just get by because the questions are word for word from a textbook, are less likely to get a higher paying job. Students who think for themselves are challenged and like being challenged, so they continue that way of thinking. These students become the owners, managers and bosses of the companies that the students who master a simple worksheet, work for.

I want to research if qualities can be taught in schools and how learning techniques and lack of funding can affect who a child becomes as an adult. Do private schools really put better graduates into the world? Are people who attended schools that offer more creative classes such as dancing, acting, art and music, better and well-rounded people? What is better? Creativity in classes? Or standardized Testing so we’re all equal, and we can all be measured in a way that getting into college might be easier? What if students are bad test takers, yet understand the concepts?

Should we be taught to pass a test? Or should we learn to be creative, to solve anything life throws at us?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Anyon, Jean. “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work.” Journal of Education.
Vol. 162, no. 1 (1980).

Browne, Anthony. The Gaurdian. Web. 29 Jun2009
http://www.gaurdian.co.uk/education/2009/jun/30/creativity-schools-children-laureate

NoChildLeftBehind.gov. “No Child Left Behind Act 2001.”

Considering Literacy: Reading and Writing The Educational Experience. Ed. Linda
Adler-Kasser. New York: Pearson Longman, 2006. 308-312. Print.

Robinson, Ken. “Schools Kill Creativity.” Ted.com. California. Feb 2006. Lecture.

Sternburg, Bob. “None of the Above-Why Standardized Testing Fails.” Ted.com. Oklahoma.

3 Dec. 2012. Lecture.

Responding-Really Responding--To Other Students Writing Reading Response

Well if that title isn't a mouth full I dont know what is. Professor Richard Straub, at Florida State University writes an article explaining the do's and dont's of responding to other students writing. He starts out by saying exactly what everyone does, sliding by making a few comments and correcting gramatical errors, pointing out awkward sentences or fragments, just so you can move on with your life. He then asks you to consider yourself a "friendly reader." What he means by this is, be that friend that that is critical  yet understanding. "Friends dont let friends think their writing is the best thing since The Great Gatsby," he says. So that being said, make sure you are helping the writer and building their confidence in way that they know they can improve their essay. Remember your not the teacher, or an editor, and you're most certainly not the writer so do not re-write anything. He breaks the responding process down even more when he begins to talk about the assignment, the writers interests, the work of the class and the drafting stages. These are key things to keep in mind when reading. He asks rhetorical questions like, Is the paper supposed to be personal? What does the writer want to accomplish? Is it a full but incomplete draft? These are all things to think about when reading and responding to another students essay. When you decide to write your comments, placement may be based on the teacher or students preferences. And when you do start writing a comment try to sound like a friend or peer "who's helpful" and not a teacher or editor, and most of all do not be "stingy." He says to respond with what i like to call "but sentences," for example This statement is interesting but these ideas in this paragraph aren't so hot. Straub says to challenge yourself to write as many praise comments and you do critical comments. Using examples of other essays that have responses already on them he critiques and explains exactly why they said what they said to the writer and why the reader responded in that way.

Because Straub broke everything down into sections and even gave examples of essays with responses I'm not left wondering or thinking theres any holes left. He explains himself well and has completely given me a fresh and new understanding on how to comment on essays. I love his assumption on how he thinks we as students respond to each other. It works in the article, because he is exactly right. I never new someone could write so much, about how to write comments on someones writing, theres another mouthful.

I agree with most everything Straub says. I never thought to think of myself as a friend reading an essay, I always thought whenever we traded essays in class we were all supposed to become mini teachers and act as if we knew the way they act. This changes a lot of my thinking towards essays my peers write, and they way I respond to their blogs.

The one golden line from this article is "Get in and get out. You're okay, I'm okay. Everybody's happy. Whats the problem." This is Straub's correct assumption on just how students think when they try to respond to someone elses writing. Simply because they probably dont care about the essay their reading. This article is something to change their minds though.