Barack Obama Rally

I am not a hundred percent sure about everything Obama talked about, as I have not been quite as involved in the electoral process as many others. That is actually the reason I attended the rally—to get a better understanding, as I will be voting. I admired Obama’s passion about the change necessary in our country. He spoke of many alterations he would employ if he were to be elected into office. Some significant actions he assured us he would undertake were securing nuclear weapons around the world (which I was a bit skeptical about, as I don’t understand how he would go about doing this), immediate troop withdrawal from Iraq, wage raises for teachers, universal healthcare, enabling more students to attend college, and taking action on global warming. I loved all Obama talked about, however, I found him a bit unrealistic regarding the simplicity of all these aspects. Obama without doubt appealed to both ethos and pathos. He appealed to ethos, through revealing his charisma and passion about the changes he plans to make. He exposed that he was sympathetic to teachers, underprivileged students, and the oppressed minorities. In regards to pathos, I feel that Obama hugely targets the younger generation. He continuously spoke of the “future generation”, and how “our time is now”. He spoke of many issues that have been of concern recently such as college, troops returning home, and global warming. I feel that he spoke also in a straightforward but powerful manner, appealing to people who may be naive and unknowledgeable about politics.

Susan Greene

I really admired Susan Greene's article in the Denver Post, "Kids Know Better Than Bruce". It was not so much her use of sarcasm and belittlement, but more her development of ethos. She really created a personal voice, and I could tell just what sort of person she was after reading the piece. The way she spoke and made her point through the voices of children was very powerful and impacting.

Class Writing Lesson

I thought it was very useful when a chosen student provided a paragraph from her first draft of her Literary Analysis Piece. I have been in several English classes where teachers provide examples that are completely irrelevant to pieces we are working on at the time. Those situations provided no relevant aid and many times made me even more confused. Seeing how a relevant paragraph could be revised into a "less wordy" form created a clear image of what is expected for this assignment

Reviewing Peers' Work

As peer review can be very effective, I also find it confusing. As none of us are perfect or "professional" writers, each of us students have different writing styles, and different perspectives of a "well written piece". If this wasn't true, if we all had the same "correct" view, we probably wouldn't be in a writing class...
I sometimes feel that I am being too critical, or trying to change a student's piece into one that I myself would compose. Again, this is obviously because I am most comfortable with my writing styles...and that is why I use them.
It is also never clear if I'm being to offensive, or trying to give too much advise. I for one, have experienced confusion and insecurity about my writing before. It is hard to take in other students' advice when you thought you just wrote an amazing piece. It is never fun to be extremely proud of your writing and then hear or read a critical review analyzing every sentence, telling you why your writing sounds horrible. Peer review overall is a difficult process which I feel should be moderated in al aspects.

The Literary Event Analysis

At first I was a little iffy about the assignment given, as I was uncomfortable with the idea of solely describing a literacy event. I was tempted to write a peice about a book, and what it led me to think about, how it changed the way I viewed literature. I soon realized that wasn't quite the assignment. Instead I was to just describe and talk about one important and memorable event. I chose to write about reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" written by Khaled Hosseini. The writing evoked a lot of emotion inside of me, and led me to gain new perspectives. Just simply reading the book was a memorable experience for me. And that means something...because I am not one who loves reading. Anyway, after beginning to construct my first draft, I felt very confident, and sure about my piece. I learned that instead of doubting myself, I should be more open to new assignments and have more confidence, as I am perfectly capable of many things.

Living Through Writing

I noticed that the ony two pieces we've studied in class have something very much in common. We first studied Quique Aviles's piece, "I Will Take My Voice Back". He illustrated that the only thing which keeps him alive and functioning, the only thing that helps him make it through each day, is communication with the outer world. Through his writing and acting, and tellng of his story, he not only helps keep others from repeating his mistakes, but also saves himself. He loves sharing his story, as it makes things real- he admits who he is, telling his stories. In a very similar manner, Dorothy Allison writes. She writes to tell stories she has lived through. Like Aviles, she writes to live. She even states on page 72 of "Two or Three Things I Know For sure", "to go on living I have to tell stories, that stories are the one sure way I knowto touch the heart and change the world". While Allison clearly writes for others, it can be concluded after reading her novel, that she is saved through communication as well.