Murphy, Monica, and Bill Wasik. “Undead: The Rabies Virus Remains a Medical Mystery.” Wired Science. Conde Nast, July 2012. Web. 25 September 2012.
In "Undead: The Rabies Virus Remains a Medical Mystery", Murphy and Wasik discuss this coma treatment that was performed by Dr. Rodney Willoughby to save a young girl affected by rabies. Willoughby began this treatment when he reasoned, “the battle against rabies might actually be a battle for time. Rabies might not be killing the brain directly, but it was causing the brain to kill the body before the body had time to fight it off”. The only information Willoughby knew about rabies was that it was known to be 100 percent fatal, but he disagreed with this. Therefore after selling this theory to others, Willoughby began the coma treatment. He uses technology to leave the young girl in a coma for a week and see if her body is able to fight off the rabies. The coma treatment worked on this young girl but it left Willoughby and rabies experts with many unanswered questions. Even Willoughby questions his own theory, is rabies just a battle for time?
Since rabies has always been known to be 100 percent fatal this leads society to wonder, was Willoughby’s coma treatment the key to survival from rabies or do all rabies cases differ? If all of the people that have either been affected by rabies or have had family or friends that have been affected by rabies stuck together and encouraged this research there could possibly become a cure for this life threatening outbreak. This could also result in answers to all of these unanswered questions that have resulted from the very few cases of people who did survive rabies. Each case differed in some way, so therefore what actually distinguishes how severe rabies is? There are much more people that have not survived rabies in comparison to those that have survived. If society encouraged the extensive research of Willoughby’s theory and found out if rabies is just a battle for time then we would have more time to save the lives that are being affected by rabies.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
The Process Of Becoming Confident in Writing
When starting my paper on education I felt nervous and frustrated because I felt that I was not going to be able to write a full essay about the topic. As I began to write I noticed that it was actually a very interesting topic that I was personally able to relate to. I'm proud of my self, because this is one of the first essays that I've been assigned to write where I've had the freedom to choose what I want to write about and not have set guidelines on how to write the essay. Once I began writing it became much easier for me to continue and I no longer was having problems coming up with ideas to write about. What was difficult for me in this paper was, balancing the use of the understandings from the article and my personal experiences. I tend to always do one and not the other when writing. While in this paper, I focused very hard on balancing the two out and I think it was evident in the end and made my paper overall much better. This made me feel very confident in the usage of my personal experiences.
After writing this paper I feel that I have already began to see an improvement in my writing skills. I learned that when I do have doubts in what I am writing to go ahead and ask questions. Coming for help and asking questions overall helped me to have a better understanding of the paper and helped me to stay on topic. From this paper, I learned as a writer to not doubt myself. It is possible for me to write about many different topics, I just need to stop being negative and think that i can't. For my next paper that I start I plan to stay open minded and not become nervous and frustrated upon the start because I know that it is possible.
After writing this paper I feel that I have already began to see an improvement in my writing skills. I learned that when I do have doubts in what I am writing to go ahead and ask questions. Coming for help and asking questions overall helped me to have a better understanding of the paper and helped me to stay on topic. From this paper, I learned as a writer to not doubt myself. It is possible for me to write about many different topics, I just need to stop being negative and think that i can't. For my next paper that I start I plan to stay open minded and not become nervous and frustrated upon the start because I know that it is possible.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Writing Recipe
Hjortshoj, Keith. “Footstools and Furniture.” The Transition to College Writing: Second Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. 107-130. Print.
In the chapter “Footstools and Furniture” from The Transition to College Writing, Hjortshoj is explaining what is wrong with writings that are based off of a format. He states, “Teachers want you to use writing as a way of thinking and conveying your thoughts about a subject, not as a demonstration that you can follow a simple recipe”. Hjortshoj is referring this “simple recipe” to the format that students often use to write. Most high school students were taught this format to use during standardized tests. He compares essays to show differences in writers that use this format and writers that actually think about the topic before and while they’re writing. Therefore, it is evident the writers that divide their papers into three parts using this format.
Hjortshoj examples encourage me to think back to my previous English classes and I remember always being taught the same format year after year to writing an essay. It has always been the key to succeeding in standardized tests. After reading this chapter I now wonder, did we actually ever learn from writing these essays? Most students that are given an outline just complete them to get a good grade and to complete the assignment as quickly as possible. This is considered the “simple recipe” that Hjortshoj discussed. It’s the easy way out of thinking and learning from writing an essay. A student that receives a topic and has to write about it with no other further instructions will have to think more critically about the topic and will learn more information than a student that has half of the work done for them. To succeed in college writing, Hjortshoj states that students need to break away from this format and learn to write freely about their thoughts. Therefore, his points are important because writing with a set format will not help students learn to improve their writing skills, and also will not allow them to share their thoughts with the teacher. Hjortshoj simply wants society to understand the importance of conveying their own personal thoughts have on writing.
In the chapter “Footstools and Furniture” from The Transition to College Writing, Hjortshoj is explaining what is wrong with writings that are based off of a format. He states, “Teachers want you to use writing as a way of thinking and conveying your thoughts about a subject, not as a demonstration that you can follow a simple recipe”. Hjortshoj is referring this “simple recipe” to the format that students often use to write. Most high school students were taught this format to use during standardized tests. He compares essays to show differences in writers that use this format and writers that actually think about the topic before and while they’re writing. Therefore, it is evident the writers that divide their papers into three parts using this format.
Hjortshoj examples encourage me to think back to my previous English classes and I remember always being taught the same format year after year to writing an essay. It has always been the key to succeeding in standardized tests. After reading this chapter I now wonder, did we actually ever learn from writing these essays? Most students that are given an outline just complete them to get a good grade and to complete the assignment as quickly as possible. This is considered the “simple recipe” that Hjortshoj discussed. It’s the easy way out of thinking and learning from writing an essay. A student that receives a topic and has to write about it with no other further instructions will have to think more critically about the topic and will learn more information than a student that has half of the work done for them. To succeed in college writing, Hjortshoj states that students need to break away from this format and learn to write freely about their thoughts. Therefore, his points are important because writing with a set format will not help students learn to improve their writing skills, and also will not allow them to share their thoughts with the teacher. Hjortshoj simply wants society to understand the importance of conveying their own personal thoughts have on writing.
The Supply and Demand of Education (Re-Write)
Klein, Joel. "The Failure of American Schools." The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group, June 2011. Web. 28 August 2012.
From, “The Failure of American Schools” Joel Klein states, “But when you’re short of qualified math teachers-as virtually every major urban school district is-poor kids with the greatest needs invariably get cheated, because most teachers prefer to teach highly motivated kids who live in safe communities, and whose parents will contribute private money to the school”. Klein’s point is to argue how the money for education is not being used properly and the reasons that there are these debts. As a result, he compares the difference between a physical education teacher and a math teacher and why there pay should not be the same. A mathematician can find a more rewarding job elsewhere other than teaching and that is eventually what happens and causes these shortages of math teachers in urban areas. Therefore, the handful of math teachers that are available will choose to work in better communities for their own interest. Klein refers this to, “simple supply and demand”.
We as a society need to think about this because, what if we got an education and studied to be a mathematician and didn't get in return what we deserved? Or if a teacher is not able to work in a community that is in the best interest for themselves? These issues are eventually turning educators against the education system, and because of this people need to understand how something like this is putting a strain on the education system that could eventually ruin it. Not only are these debts and unfair pay within the education system happening in this generation but they will also continue to be a re-occurrence if they do not end. Everyone works hard to receive an outcome and these teachers are the same way they have worked hard to get an education so that they can not only get what they deserve but so that they can also teach their knowledge to others. Klein simply wants us to understand the impact that the education system has on everyone, and that he does not have to be the only one to stand up for it so can everyone else.
From, “The Failure of American Schools” Joel Klein states, “But when you’re short of qualified math teachers-as virtually every major urban school district is-poor kids with the greatest needs invariably get cheated, because most teachers prefer to teach highly motivated kids who live in safe communities, and whose parents will contribute private money to the school”. Klein’s point is to argue how the money for education is not being used properly and the reasons that there are these debts. As a result, he compares the difference between a physical education teacher and a math teacher and why there pay should not be the same. A mathematician can find a more rewarding job elsewhere other than teaching and that is eventually what happens and causes these shortages of math teachers in urban areas. Therefore, the handful of math teachers that are available will choose to work in better communities for their own interest. Klein refers this to, “simple supply and demand”.
We as a society need to think about this because, what if we got an education and studied to be a mathematician and didn't get in return what we deserved? Or if a teacher is not able to work in a community that is in the best interest for themselves? These issues are eventually turning educators against the education system, and because of this people need to understand how something like this is putting a strain on the education system that could eventually ruin it. Not only are these debts and unfair pay within the education system happening in this generation but they will also continue to be a re-occurrence if they do not end. Everyone works hard to receive an outcome and these teachers are the same way they have worked hard to get an education so that they can not only get what they deserve but so that they can also teach their knowledge to others. Klein simply wants us to understand the impact that the education system has on everyone, and that he does not have to be the only one to stand up for it so can everyone else.
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