Thursday, February 24, 2005
Finally
This past week they finally announced that the 2004-2005 NHL hockey season is officially canceled. All I have to say is “It is about time.” I’m sick of turning on ESPN or watching the local six o’clock sports to hear that they are still fighting over the salary cap. What a joke. It is just a bunch of millionaires fighting against billionaires about who should get paid more. Well I for one am sick and tired of it. Both sides have been bickering about this since before the end of last season and now it is finally reached a head. The only thing that the players strike has actually accomplished is hurting the fans of the National Hockey League. I for one have lost all interest in watching the NHL, even if there is a 2005-2006 season. I think that it is a shame that we have people fighting over who should get another million dollars when there are lots of people wishing that they had money to by food for dinner. Hockey has lost all of its pure sport. It is now so commercialized that it is reaching a point like all other professional sports that it is all about the money and not about the enjoyment. The only pure sport we can now see is in our high schools and colleges where the players are there for the love of the sport and not for the dollar signs. At least we still have that. Without those who play for the love of it, all sports would die. Remember when you were a little kid, playing catch in the backyard? That is what sports are all about, not about the dollar signs.
Failed Expectations
Life is nothing more than failed expectations. This statement may make one angry, after all we are promised from childhood that we can do anything and by adulthood we have built our lives on that promise. I write not only to break that promise but also not to give you that promise. For those who may be inclined to argue, let me suggest that you have not thought long enough. Those of you who are ready to crucify me by now are those who know that I am right. They are the people who would like to keep this paper a secret.
Calvin College and The Liberal Arts
Calvin College aligns itself with the liberal arts tradition, a tradition that comes from antiquity. The notion was fully developed during the middle ages and serves as a model for current liberal arts schools. However, Calvin College is also a preprofessional school, which means it offers degrees in areas not normally found at liberal arts colleges. For example, Calvin offers degrees in business, nursing, engineering, and social work. At the heart of Calvin College lies the core curriculum, which according to many makes the school a liberal arts institution. But the notion of Calvin being such a institution is a flawed conception. Calvin falls short of being a liberal arts college not only in implementation, but in its ideals and goals as well.
Where did “smelling the roses” go?
As a young child, I used to listen to a song at my daycare that had a section in the chorus that went something like this, “I can’t wait to have patience! I have been waiting for 4 minutes and I can’t wait, I can’t wait to have patience!” and continued on with the patience theme. There is something interesting about this song; it reveals a part of our culture today. Henri Nouwen says, “For many people, waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go.” Look at specific athletes, for example, runners; they see what their time is at the end of the race and they know where they want it to be so in some cases they will push themselves beyond their bodies’ limits to reach their goal and injury themselves on the way. Good athletes/runners are those who have patience, who can work with time and not work against time. People should wonder why this is such the way of our culture, and what is at the root of it. Nouwen says that it is fear that drives people this way. I agree with this and unfortunately, the consequences can be brutal. When in a rush, people tend to skip over things, forget things, and succeed only half way. This can be seen in business, in sports, in relationships, or just about any other area of our culture. Why do people speed? A red light normally lasts an entire 26 seconds. Is that time enough to risk killing somebody in a car crash because one car wanted to run the red light? I think that it is because people do not want to have down time. Time where they are forced to have quiet, to have time to themselves, time to think can be dangerous to a person. They start examining their lives and their world around them; realizing that what before them is uncertain. They could be unable to control the situation whereas when a person does not wait for the right time, he/she does not need to consider what is before them because they are already ignoring their problems, fears, insecurities, and any other emotion that leads to greater meaning. It is time that we stop. Take a look around. And smell the roses.
Students need to learn language to succeed
The “World Power” America is how many Americans think of themselves and are viewed in much of the world today. And rightly so, as the United States of America has significant influence reaching into every major country. Perhaps this can be best seen by the impact that the English language has had on the population of the world. The language of the educated used to be that of Latin, since then English has taken that place. While English, for understandable reasons, has become an important language, the American public has become all too comfortable with English becoming the world language. Consequently, the instruction of foreign languages in the American school system has drastically decreased, and the cost of such action has had and will continue to have increasingly negative effects. The key that nearly all countries have discovered is that by starting early, children learn language both better and faster and perform more competently in other areas of schooling. Language assists in breaking down social barriers between cultures and races, and aids in the business and political world, as our planet becomes more international with each passing day. The United States of America must require schoolchildren to study foreign language if the U.S. desires to have literate, competent people representing it, to have understanding of the general welfare, as well as to keep up with trade, and mostly to maintain the respect of other nations.
Physical Education Made Mandatory in Schools
Growing up, kids love going outside for recess. For many students, recess is the most important parts of their school day. Being outside, playing tag with friends, talking with others, and meeting new people made recess and physical education class fun as well as a learning experience. As we get older, the structure of our schools make it necessary to emphasize the disciplines that will help the students get jobs and less on fun and recreation. Physical Education should be mandatory in elementary and high school because it helps students to take a break from the rigors of the other disciplines, encourages kids to keep in shape and physically healthy, and helps kids learn more about themselves.
Athletes overlooking Academics
In the current age of sports there are teenagers forgoing their college education to start spending the rest of their lives dedicated to professional sports. Famous names like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, and Freddy Adu are just a few of the many high school and college athletes that want a piece of the income that the current professionals are getting. In years past, we never heard about such things as skipping college or leaving early to play professionally. One reason that this trend is coming now is the pressure from agents, media, family, and friends to make the big money from advertising that comes with being a professional athlete. Being an athletic prodigy opens up many doors for advertisement and marketing opportunities. Kobe Bryant, soon after going into the NBA from high school had a shoe deal with Nike
Age Comes, Time Goes
Doesn’t it seem that as you get older, time goes by much faster? I know time is constant, but it feels relative. When we are younger, all we can do is be impatient. It seems to take forever to wait to go see grandma in a week or even longer to wait for Christmas. In our younger years all we could do was wait for the day when we get older, cooler, and have the ability to do anything we want. Ironically, when we are finally “old enough,” we feel as though time was put on hyper speed and we would give anything if time would just slow down.
What can the U.S. Health Care System Learn from Canada?
Millions of Americans go without health care in the United States each year. While it can be proven that the average medical bill in the United States is too expensive for the average person to pay, many justify this by saying that insurance adequately takes care of this problem. Insurance may alleviate the stress for some; however, it does not for a large portion of people who do not qualify for it or can not afford it. An estimated 45 million Americans are uninsured. This is not the case in Canada. All Canadian citizens are insured by the government. Each citizen is given the needed medical assistance regardless of what their income or health status is. Although the Canadian system may not be perfect, the United States needs to view this system, see which elements would help its current system, and implement them.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Thesis Example
[SETTING THE SCENE]A.A. Milne’s classic series, “Winnie the Pooh,” has been rightly hailed as a masterpiece of children’s literature. Its collection of memorable animal characters has made its mark on the imagination of several generations of children. [TRANSITION TO THESIS]A closer look at Milne’s stories, however, reveals that while the Pooh stories can be enjoyed as light-hearted tales about friendship in the forest, Milne also uses a specific literary device to illuminate a deeper truth about the human condition. The conspicuous prevalence of Pooh’s honey (or “hunny,” as the bear incorrectly but charmingly spells it), inclines the reader to search for the meaning behind this focal point of Pooh’s worldview. The reader can conclude that [THESIS]Pooh’s hunger for honey is a metaphor for the human need for love. This conclusion rests on three themes: [ESSAY MAP]Pooh’s consideration of honey as a vital and indispensible element of life, the connection between Pooh’s sense of well-being and the adequacy of his honey supply, and the way in which Pooh internalizes his honey as a route to personal empowerment.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
Thesis Exercise
Task: In your group, come up with a thesis for each essay or video segment. Best thesis gets a prize.
1) Jonathan Franzen’s essay “Imperial Bedroom.”
WINNER: Group 5
We as Americans want to keep our private private and our public public. It
appears as though we are losing privacy through increases in technology and a
blurred line between private and public space; but the illusion of privacy
still remains important.
The Blog Begins!
Welcome to the English 101-J weblog for Spring 2005! Bookmark this blog and return soon to read our journal entries, paper abstracts, and other writing we’ve done for class. We’re trying to prove that the blogosphere doesn’t have to be dominated by drivel; weblogs are a dynamic and engaging medium that can nourish creativity and interaction. For more on better blogging, see this introduction to my weblog at booksandculture.com. This weblog is part of a pilot program at Calvin College. See you back here soon!