Greetings RLA'ers,
For this week's writing assignment, I'd like you to read this article by Mr. John Hagney, a history teacher at Spokane's very own Lewis and Clack High School.
After you've read it twice (once for the general theme of the thing, a second time for specifics),
I'd like you to complete the following two tasks. Task one is due by lunch. Task two is due by lunch tomorrow.
Task 1: After reading the article twice, I'd like you to choose one of Mr. Hagney's bullet points that you agree with entirely, and one that you feel is just plain wrong. For the former, defend why you agree with him. For the the latter, explain why Mr. Hagney is incorrect. Both of these answers should be posted in the comments section of the blog.
Task 2: In a two-page, double spaced essay, please come up with your own list of 5 steps we need to take immediately in order to save the America we all know and love from impending doom. Like Mr. Hagney's article, yours needs to include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. I don't want a list.
Good luck. This will be graded and don't forget, semester grades are coming soon. You can't afford to get a ZERO on this assignment.
-Ned-
41 comments:
I very much like this article and i agree with the bullet points. However, this artilce is strongly liberal and really shows the democratic side of teachers here in spokane. Thats one reason i hate the inlander, its so ummm well indie and liberal!
Anyways i concer with this article, here here!!
this is a great example of what our Great Nation is headed for! i agree with what he is saying except for the kill the tv thing, cuse if you kill your tv you cant watch glen beck, and if we cant watch glen beck, then we are in the dark to what is going on around us! but besides that what the author said is pretty much true!
--Cody
alrighty then, hmmm... ok so i agree that we sould bring back hirtory studies, sience and math are cool but we are pretty focused on them subjects right there. lots of kids don't know too much about history and i think its just as important as math and sience. On the other hand the whole technology takin' over is bull, most of us need that stuff like cell phones and internet. We've gotten preeeettty acttathced to them, i mean just think about how messed up we would be if cells and internet just (*poof*) gone. book learning is good but internet is faster.
sam
i fletcher agree with the first point theres so many people out there that are like books.books math.science.science.math.books Ahhhhhhhhh!! do what makes you happy foo...... these words is pretty dope sukkafish cant find anything to
I agree that we should bring back history studies. Colleges all they do is look at what you had for langauge and math what about history. History is fun.
the one point i disgree with is the return of progressive income tax.
-Tyler
I say this article is repetitive, my reasoning is cause the author is complaining that our "Future of Politics, Studies, and Work”, is a load of bogus, and is just unnecessary crap. We already know that our future isn't so bright, but should we criticize ourselves? What right does this author have to complain about the same problems that he has too, and blame it on others but not on himself? I say this assignment is a complete disappointment... but hey, that's my opinion...
I agree with the bulliten that says we need to shut off our plug in drugs and hire scholar teachers.
I disagree with " Disabuse ourselves of the delusion that U.S. civilization ......."
I agree with the bullet point that starts with, "Teach your children well...” I think this is a good example of what we need to fix in our society. I believe it is much more important for children to learn about the world and learn in school than learn how to play video games or learn about what is on TV. If children keep playing video games when they are 6 or 7, they will spend more time paying these games then learning about important things they will need their whole lives. If video games and TV is all they know, they won't be able to get a good job or become as successful as a child who learned and paid attention in school or even successful at all. This doesn’t mean we have to get rid of internet or games forever, it just means our children, little kids, need to start learning more and stop playing so many video games. The point isn’t that we need to get rid of all technology all together, forever, the point is just to stop your kids from playing so many video games and make them learn more.
I disagree with the bullet point that stats,” Realize that pursuit of self interest is not the same as enlightened self interest.”
I think Mr. John Hagney has a realy good point. I agree with him, Math and Science is overrated. A good education should cover all topics. Someone who has a great math and science knowledge can't use it if he never learned how to communicate or talk with people. A lot of people forgot that all the different school subjects complement each other, and don't work against each other. It is often underrated how much one can learn from history and the past. Too call yourself well educated, you need a good mix of all subjects.
On the other hand, Mr. John Hagney brings a point up, I can't agree with.He says in order to teach ones children well, one has to kill telivison, Xbox and Playstation. I think it's not that easy. I think it is good for children if they can escape from reality once in a while and just watch TV or play video games. It's not the video games fault that your children loose their sense for reality, it's their parents fault. You as a parent are responsible to keep your child in reality and don't let entertainment take over. One has to blame the parents failure, not the video games.
I change my mind and I dissagree with the sentence that starts with, "Police and fire protection..." I think that everyone, not just the people who can afford it should get these benefits. Why shouldn't someone who can't afford it not get these benefits that make their lives better? Theres no reason. We shold all get them.
I agree with the first bullet on this article. I agree because I think that history is the most important subject there is. I believe that students should be educated in what's happened in the world we live in.
I disagree with the bullet that says to kill your television because it is overstimulating dopamine. I believe that video games a TV are a good way to relieve dopamine, compared to drugs and other ways that hurt your body.
-Xander
I agree completely with the issue about the technology the XBox 360, Playstation 3 and Modern Warfare 2, kids are getting really fat and the obesity in America is doubling ever two years, don’t get me wrong I love technology but America should just cut back. I disagree with the bullet about “Revive the study of history and the humanities” we need more then science and math to completely get a good education.
The point I disagree with is the one that refers to television and videogames, and not just because I use these items. I feel rather than hiding from the world and things we don't agree with we should seek oppurtunities to learn about what is out there. If you ignore something to avoid confronting an issue how will you deal with it when it is unavoidable.
I strongly agree with the statement about "returning traditional conservitive intrests in a balanced budget." On a personal level spending money you don't have is generally a bad idea. You become tied to a debt until you repay that money. Only foolish people use a credit card will under the mindset that its investment will pay itself off. Why not just wait to save up the money before you use it and avoid they stress of worrying about weather or not the investment pays of or dealing with intrest.
Caleb
Spelling is IMPERATVE!
I agree mostly with this statement:
• Revive the study of history and the humanities. We worship on the altar of math and science to the neglect of the humanities and the arts. We must remedy this disequilibrium in public curriculum. When the scientific perspective predominates, our worldview is one-dimensional and thus our policies are less grounded in an understanding of human nature and more likely to fail.
I don’t agree with their saying that the “arts” have died out in culture but I do think that if you go up to the average student today and inquire if they study or enjoy history and they would give you a blank stare. “History?” They would say, “Why should I care about something that happened before I was born?” Ah, the idiocy of society. Perhaps I should take that line out. Anyways my point is that history has near no respect and we are bound to end up repeating mistakes that we have made in the past unless we LEARN FROM THE PAST. I am sickened by the amount of history that has been lost to the modern generation. I, myself have found history to be a brilliant way to spend my time. LONG LIVE THE PAST/FUTURE!
I both agree and disagree with this statement:
• Teach your children well. Kill your television and XBox 360, Playstation 3 and Modern Warfare 2. Children recovering from these plug-in drugs are less likely to need Ritalin. In lieu of over stimulating our children’s synapses with entertainment-induced dopamine, read to your children daily. It is the most consistent predictor of high achievement in school.
I think that electronic gaming should be mediated yes, banned? No. Children of the generation of technology need to learn about a time when there wasn’t a robot to do your work or a computer to make your life easier. The thought of a possible future with no electronic devices will drive most students into a state of panic. They will then check their “face of book” to see if it has happened yet. When they find out it hasn’t they will forget about it due to an attention span shorter than that of a goldfish. Back to my main point. Video games need to be beaten back. With a rock. A rock shaped like Belgium. Beaten back but not I think destroyed. Erase this foul addiction from the minds of many. Let them learn to read and study their past. While we beat video games back using Belgium, we must also discover the merit of scholarly behavior. Such as organization, reading skills and a fine taste in hats.
I myself agree with the first bullet. History is an important subject even if we "worship science and math" History is important for kids to know.
I somewhat agree and disagree with the "Kill your TV" topic I agree because I have a 12 year old brother who spends every waking moment on the T.V. wasting his time but I have no room to speak posting stuff on peoples walls on Face Book. I disagree also because the internet is an important subject to get news same with T.V. used at a steady rate and for the right reasons.
I agree with the first bullet point. People should learn more from the past so they won't make the same mistake. I disagree with the eighth bullet point. We shouldn’t just kill all the video games, but we should control it. Entertainments can make people relax and take a break from the busy world. After all, if we all don’t play video games, program engineers will lose their job.
by Teriyaki beef dipper AKA Ricky Bobby
I agree with the point that we should study humanities and art more. I believe that there should be an equilibrium established. So that we as Americans would actually be able to understand and possibly establish a culture. The only "point" that I disagree with is how un-capitalist he sounds. He comes across as socialist and I believe that if he truly wants to help save the United States then he should try to form it around the constitution and the ideas America was formed on. Not what he wants it to be.
It seems funny to me that most of you agree with the crazy. I personaly think he needs to shut his mouth and teach what he was hired to teach. The only bullet point I agree with 100% is that we need to break away from the main focus's such as science and math and start bringing out the creative side of America. Yes science and math is very important (i personaly hate math) but we need to bring back the history and art that have brought us to what we currently are. I totaly disagree with his point to un-plug xbox and blah blah blah. Videogames dont hurt people, its the fact that you dont have enough self control and motivation to get off the couch and do something that ultimatly helps you out in life. People such as this teacher need to quit bitching to put it bluntly. -Brandon B.
Well i do agree that we should emphisize the other arts of school other than science and math. I always had thought that we should increase knowledge of our world so that we know where our science and math come from. But that guy is flippin nuts. why would we only have police and fire protection to the people who pay for it? well i mean i think that should be with insuraunce which it is so that way you get paid back.
I agree with Mr. Hagney's point about reviving the study of history and humanties because,is just as important as the present, we need to look upon history instead of "worshiping" math and science. I have always felt asthough math and science have been made more omportant than history has and with no knowledge of the past how can we shape the new world without seeing the errors that took place when other civilizations tried their own ways?
Although I don't fully agree with his point about "killing your Xbox and PS3s" becuase even though the nation is become fatter that dosent mean technology is to blame. it is the parent's job to raiset their children in a proper healthy way and not to let technology babysit their kids. technology is amazing but it all depends how it is used, the same as a gun: alone the gun is a great invention but it cannot kill withoutbeing used in that manner, it all depends on how you use everything around you.
C.R.HOWELL
I disagree with most of the first bullet. He stresses that we need to put aside our mathematical and scientifically ambitions, and focus more on humanities and art. As a leader of some school I would think he would know the truth about how the youth of our country has been doing in math and science. I see seniors in geometry and students that still don’t understand basic science. We are falling behind the new world, which is not the age of philosophies, and the world will not wait for us. This age is based on perfecting our technology, realizing and truly understanding the real world with math and science, rather than the history and the words of dead men that knew nothing of what we know today.
Humanities and art help us with understanding and critical thinking, but math and science not only needs to be understood but at this rate, there needs to be more understanding. If you could choose four subjects for all the youth to learn what would it be? In my opinion, based on the conditions of the youth the direction there heading, English, math, science, history. Definitely not English, art, humanities, and history... anyway loads of bs.
I agreed with his say on games and TV. Our youth really is becoming more disconnected and desensitized with the real world from this. By interacting more with the real world and encountering real world situations they will learn to approach and execute them in such ways leading to a successful outcome....yeah anyway so yeah loads of bs...... oh I forgot one more thing this guy is so full of himself, he uses a “selective word choice” that “leads me” to the “conclusion” that he probably can’t write anything without his thesaurus tab. And if you really understand what he's saying it’s really just simple ideas that he needlessly soaked up with metaphors that run in circles, Shakespeare quotes (really?), words that the CIS analyst barks out to make more BS of what’s really obvious (The ballistics trajectory undisputedly suggests that the victims left bycrianal membrane cerebral cortex cavity was penetrated thus severing his lobotic mesencephalon…..ehdem….so what you trying to say is that he was shot in the face at point blank, and he died because....wait in looking something up in my dictionary.....hmmm.. because of a FRICKEN HUGE GAPING HOLE IN HIS BRAIN!) and let’s not forget them lodging their " I’m talking so smartly that you have to get a dictionary, so how can you possibly challenge anything I say" ego up you A$$ just so they can sleep at night knowing that they’re going to die a 40 year old virgin. Forgetting anything…….oh yeah loads of bs anyway yeah…. Well yeah Im pretty much the MOST ULTIMATE SEXY MANBEAST BADASS EVER, HELL YEAH…. UH… FOR KEEPS…YEAHYEA…UH GET SUM.
ummmm......wow.......ok then. some one needs to stop giveing him Sugar and/or crack. i cant tell Which one.
Wow....out of all these comments, only Thilo, Whaleologist Doctor Ned Fadeley, and Captain Jack Harkness have done enough critical thinking and writing to earn full credit on this assignment.
-Ned-
• Reverse our adversarial relationship with government and restore democracy. Certainly the institution needs reforming, including campaign finance laws that criminalize plutocratic practices. In a plutocracy, money means access to the elected and influence on policy. Recognize that politics is Machiavellian and, as such, constitutional checks and balances and a vigilant, critical press are indispensible to democracy.
This quote was by far my favorite because not only do i agree with it but i believe that it is a major issue America is facing right now. Once again i get to restate the point that everything does eventually come down to money.
If a offical canidiate is running and has more sponsors and funding then than the other, he is the one who has will and the means to make his voice and oppinions heard. Lets put the constitution back to work and start out lawing these little cheats.
Yes i agree with most of the bullet. i think we do need to increase the worlds knowledge so we know where our sience comes from but i disagree with the guy when he says the only people that will get protection is those that pay for it, i mean what if you dont have the money i think that everyone should have acess to legal help.
i agree for the most part with the bullet points, i think that yes we do need to study history more, as George Santayana said "Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." we are relying to mush on science and math not saying thats a bad thing. we're losing the real meaning to history, most of the students today think that "oh, it's just history, we dont need it." but we do need it.
-Quince
while the author is arguing a good point and does have some good ideas he seems a little repetitive in his writing, and while his broad vocabulary does give a certain amount of zeal to his argument he uses it to such a point that you start to view this as nothing more then an over-confident, intellectual rant. that is not to say that the message was not good, i agree that more learning effort should be put towards the arts and the histories, they are just as important as math and science, but it is possible to relay it in a better fashion
First of all, I think it's hilarious that this guy is psycho enough to write an article like this. If he's halfway joking, then fine. If he's serious, he needs mental help and only the Inlander would be crazy enough to publish this crap. I also suspect he didn't finish a single sentence without his thesaurus. It needs to be taken away before he hurts himself.
Anyways, I'm mostly at a disagreement with the entire article. However, I agree with the speculation that we need to revive the study of history and the humanities. We have been practically worshipping math and science this past decade, and it's completely useless. CVSD has a writing program so HIGH SCHOOLERS know how to write a BASIC ESSAY. It's pathetic. I learned how to add, subtract, multliply and divide years before I learned how to write a simple paragraph. Isn't communicating with humanity much more important? And while understanding our world with science and doing compulsatory math is important, history is just as important, and should be taught at the same time. Yet I didn't even recieve a history book until I was well into middle school. I also think we've been wasting too much time trying to get our kids to pass dumb standardized tests. It almost seemed like the entire curriculum revolved around teaching kids to answer WASL questions, and showing your work correctly.
I disagree with the bullet about "Reverse our adversarial relationship with government" restoring democracy blah blah blah let's all be patriotic and have a super government because that's totally gonna happen and we're going to revive our country's government-- IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! In your hopeful democratic dreams, maybe there will be a big turnaround and everyone will be happy with our government. Give it up for now.
i agree with the bullet point 100 percent that we need to bring back the creativity in our world instead of just sticking with math and science i mean thats very important but we need history art social studies all that cause thats how we got where we are today.
-devin
I Disagree with Mr.Hagney's think that Individual pricicy sould become opaque because that would mean that people would not be able to asses surtain pieces of either their own or someone elses files. Ths can lead to problems in some background checks and for things like medical emergencies.
I agree with Mr Hagney's idea that there should be a restoration of the traditional conservitive intrest in a balanced budget. I believe this because I grew up poor and my mother taught me how to manage money. The first lession I was taught was not to let mooney to burn a hole in my pocket. I have noticed through out the years that many Americans have a shopping adiction. That I agree with Mr. Hagney.
i completly agree with the "kill your ps3, and xbox section"
my whole house hold is run by a ps3, its completely and utterly bs, all my dad does from the time he gets off work till 11, is sit on his ass and spend real money on artifical crap,while the irs is barking at our heels, and were falling more and more into debt, its turned my dad from a fun loving baddas outdoorsman to a lazy slob whos only concern is update night for the ps3 network, my brother too, all he does is sit in the basment all day playing wow, or some other mmorpg, it disgusts me, im sad to say that, but its true.
Erik
I agree completly with Mr. Hagney's edvice to get rid of your television, XBox 360 and other "plug-in" drugs. Its a fact, that if parents read to thier children or have thier children read more, can lead to better grades and smarter stronger minds. And is that not what we strive for, for our own benefits and those of our families and friends. Not to mention to much time infront of a TV damages your eyes kills your imagination(which I think is crutial to learning and being succesful)and makes you lazy. I disagree with only one thing, Mr. Hagney uses too many words, that Im sure he made up, and it made understanding the article and to see his opinion kind of a challenge.
1. I believe that the second bullet is completley true, many people do feel that the United States is a Civalization that cant crumble but when you look at other great civilazations like the Azteks they fell to the ground because they failed to grow properley and died from their weakness, No one civilazation is completley immune.
2. I Disagree with the final bullet because several people in the world thrive from video games becomming successful and intellegent people as I who wants to become a video game designer I learn one of the most complicated Languages in the world the Language of Computers because of all the combinations of coding you have to be able to understand it so i believe that video games stimulate more than just the entertainment but also branches off to making some people want to do what they want instead of what society chooses for them.
-Collin
i think that there are lots of good points in this article so it was pretty dificult for me to choose just one bullet point to agree with, but the one that i think is the most valid is the bullet point about getting rid of xbox, ps3, mw2 and all that good stuff. i think this is essential for our society to continue as a democracy rather than a dictatorship. if all of our youth play these mindless games, which as the author said are over-stimulating our synapses in our brains, we will slowly become a giant herd of sheeple. video games and television are an easy way for parents to get their kids out of their hair, but it is desensitizing our youth, not only to academia but to violence, and producing hyperactive children with no desire to learn. we need to be more focused on our childrens academics rather than their recreation. if we all become ignorant slaves to electronics and media, then we will quite easily lose the goverment that we call a democracy. if there is no objectivity of the people then those intellectuals who actualy strived twords academics can quite easily manipulate the system to be whatever they please.
as for the bullet point that i disagree with, it would be the line about reviving the arts and not worshiping math and science. i agree that the humanities and arts are important, but what we are going to need in the coming years are people who can make the decisions that need to be made, and those who can make decisions based on fact and statistics rather than human emotion. i personaly hate how much compasion we have as a society. let me explain before you say i sound like a cold hearted ass. i believe that the ridiculous amount of money spent to keep the elderly and terminl ill alive could be spent on the homeless and starving people we have in the streets. we have to consider the statistics and evaluate loses. thats like the question alot of people ask is "would you be wiling to kill someone you love to save 100 strangers" and the typical response is no. now im not saying we should completely numb ourselves from emotion, im just saying i believe in rationality over compassion. after all, emotions are just chemicals released in our brains triggered by an electronic pulse through a memory or a thogught passage.
-jake
i think that there are lots of good points in this article so it was pretty dificult for me to choose just one bullet point to agree with, but the one that i think is the most valid is the bullet point about getting rid of xbox, ps3, mw2 and all that good stuff. i think this is essential for our society to continue as a democracy rather than a dictatorship. if all of our youth play these mindless games, which as the author said are over-stimulating our synapses in our brains, we will slowly become a giant herd of sheeple. video games and television are an easy way for parents to get their kids out of their hair, but it is desensitizing our youth, not only to academia but to violence, and producing hyperactive children with no desire to learn. we need to be more focused on our childrens academics rather than their recreation. if we all become ignorant slaves to electronics and media, then we will quite easily lose the goverment that we call a democracy. if there is no objectivity of the people then those intellectuals who actualy strived twords academics can quite easily manipulate the system to be whatever they please.
as for the bullet point that i disagree with, it would be the line about reviving the arts and not worshiping math and science. i agree that the humanities and arts are important, but what we are going to need in the coming years are people who can make the decisions that need to be made, and those who can make decisions based on fact and statistics rather than human emotion. i personaly hate how much compasion we have as a society. let me explain before you say i sound like a cold hearted ass. i believe that the ridiculous amount of money spent to keep the elderly and terminl ill alive could be spent on the homeless and starving people we have in the streets. we have to consider the statistics and evaluate loses. thats like the question alot of people ask is "would you be wiling to kill someone you love to save 100 strangers" and the typical response is no. now im not saying we should completely numb ourselves from emotion, im just saying i believe in rationality over compassion. after all, emotions are just chemicals released in our brains triggered by an electronic pulse through a memory or a thogught passage.
-jake
i think that there are lots of good points in this article so it was pretty dificult for me to choose just one bullet point to agree with, but the one that i think is the most valid is the bullet point about getting rid of xbox, ps3, mw2 and all that good stuff. i think this is essential for our society to continue as a democracy rather than a dictatorship. if all of our youth play these mindless games, which as the author said are over-stimulating our synapses in our brains, we will slowly become a giant herd of sheeple. video games and television are an easy way for parents to get their kids out of their hair, but it is desensitizing our youth, not only to academia but to violence, and producing hyperactive children with no desire to learn. we need to be more focused on our childrens academics rather than their recreation. if we all become ignorant slaves to electronics and media, then we will quite easily lose the goverment that we call a democracy. if there is no objectivity of the people then those intellectuals who actualy strived twords academics can quite easily manipulate the system to be whatever they please.
as for the bullet point that i disagree with, it would be the line about reviving the arts and not worshiping math and science. i agree that the humanities and arts are important, but what we are going to need in the coming years are people who can make the decisions that need to be made, and those who can make decisions based on fact and statistics rather than human emotion. i personaly hate how much compasion we have as a society. let me explain before you say i sound like a cold hearted ass. i believe that the ridiculous amount of money spent to keep the elderly and terminl ill alive could be spent on the homeless and starving people we have in the streets. we have to consider the statistics and evaluate loses. thats like the question alot of people ask is "would you be wiling to kill someone you love to save 100 strangers" and the typical response is no. now im not saying we should completely numb ourselves from emotion, im just saying i believe in rationality over compassion. after all, emotions are just chemicals released in our brains triggered by an electronic pulse through a memory or a thogught passage.
-jake
i think that there are lots of good points in this article so it was pretty dificult for me to choose just one bullet point to agree with, but the one that i think is the most valid is the bullet point about getting rid of xbox, ps3, mw2 and all that good stuff. i think this is essential for our society to continue as a democracy rather than a dictatorship. if all of our youth play these mindless games, which as the author said are over-stimulating our synapses in our brains, we will slowly become a giant herd of sheeple. video games and television are an easy way for parents to get their kids out of their hair, but it is desensitizing our youth, not only to academia but to violence, and producing hyperactive children with no desire to learn. we need to be more focused on our childrens academics rather than their recreation. if we all become ignorant slaves to electronics and media, then we will quite easily lose the goverment that we call a democracy. if there is no objectivity of the people then those intellectuals who actualy strived twords academics can quite easily manipulate the system to be whatever they please.
as for the bullet point that i disagree with, it would be the line about reviving the arts and not worshiping math and science. i agree that the humanities and arts are important, but what we are going to need in the coming years are people who can make the decisions that need to be made, and those who can make decisions based on fact and statistics rather than human emotion. i personaly hate how much compasion we have as a society. let me explain before you say i sound like a cold hearted ass. i believe that the ridiculous amount of money spent to keep the elderly and terminl ill alive could be spent on the homeless and starving people we have in the streets. we have to consider the statistics and evaluate loses. thats like the question alot of people ask is "would you be wiling to kill someone you love to save 100 strangers" and the typical response is no. now im not saying we should completely numb ourselves from emotion, im just saying i believe in rationality over compassion. after all, emotions are just chemicals released in our brains triggered by an electronic pulse through a memory or a thogught passage.
-jake
*thought passage and im sorry for the multiple posts
Jake we heard you.....yeeh
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