Upsilamba!!!

Upsilamba is about how Nafisi has meeting outside of school for women to discuss the literary works that have been banned from the classroom. These meetings were also a chance for the women to share their experiences of using their imaginations to escape situations where they feel trapped. In my own experiences, I have had my nose stuffed in a book through some of the hardest experiences in my life. During my freshman year of high school, my mother and my aunt were fighting for custody of my sisters and I. The first night of that experience, the state police showed up to the house and I instantly ran to my room and grabbed eclipse of my book shelf and began to read, before I knew it I was six chapters in and lost in the forest, jumping tree top to tree top. This was my attempt to escape from this reality I was faced with. Reading books to escape from uncontrollable situations can help someone clear their minds and rearrange their thoughts to try to deal with the situation that is at hand. I also feel as though escaping reality through reading can also give a person hope that the situation is able to get better.     

I just want to be average

" Students will float to the mark you set." This is a statement that was said by Mike Rose. I disagree with this statement because it is up to the student to meet the set mark. If a student is not interested in the subjection isn't willing to apply themselves, they typically are the students that don't meet the set mark. From my own experience, I never applied myself in history as much as I should have because I was simply not interested in the material. It was my senior year in Government and I still could not tell my teacher what year the revolutionary war began. He seemed quite disappointed seeing that I was his student in previous years. I also disagree with this statement because some students will go above and beyond the set mark because they are inspired by the material of the course. From a personal experience I know someone who was so involved with the material they were doing extra learning online at home and would return to have conversations with the teacher. Lastly, I will argue that a student will also let his/ her group of friends determine whether they like or dislike the material, which could have an effect on whether the student will achieve the mark set by the teacher.

In this section, it seemed as though Rose gave up to fast on his educational career when he was placed on the vocational tract. Throughout this piece he snaked further into an "I don't care" attitude, even though he cared; it wasn't until a mistake was found that his view began to change. If there was a lesson to be learned from Rose's selection, I learned that you shouldn't let a mistake, friends, or placement test make you feel like you can't make a change. I also learned that you shouldn't have to conform to a specific group because being different and showing our strengths is what makes us unique. Rose's education was a struggle from the beginning, but he was able to defeat that monster and continue his education on a path that made him feel satisfied. 

How To say nothing in 500 words

In response to Paul Roberts piece, I am able to relate to the frustration a teacher may have when reading 20 papers that argue the same subject. I was a freshman in high school and the same writing prompt was given to the entire class. When I received my graded paper I didn't receive the grade I expected to have, but yet the kid next to me, who never shows up to class, aces the paper without trying. The advice that Roberts writes about is very useful, especially for people, including myself, that cannot write and argument paper to save their lives. I'm absolutely horrible at creating an argument for any kind of persuasive or argument paper. Every paper I have written that has included an argument ended in disaster, mostly because my argument was never strong. With the advice Roberts writes about, I am able to take it into consideration when I am assigned the next argument paper. I really enjoyed how Roberts guides you through writing an argument paper by using different techniques and using professional papers to further support his statements of proving why you are right about your argument. I was convinced that this advice was good to follow after; "If you want the reader to believe college football is bad for the players, you have to do more than say it." This line convinced me to believe in the advice because he made a point. The point being that just because something is said, doesn't mean that it has been defended and is automatically the best answer for the question. Just making the statement is your opinion, whereas if examples and major points are made toward that opinion a strong argument can be formed.

Multiple Intelligences

After reading, Multiple Intelligences, about Gardner opinion and explanation of the multiple intelligence theory, I decided to answer question 3. The professional field I would like to aspire to is medical laboratory technology. To aspire to this professional field I need to have Logical- Mathematical intelligence and Interpersonal intelligence. To be able to maintain or even improve on these intelligences, I believe that I need to continue to challenge myself with higher education and training. I would also need to improve my social skills to have a better understanding of a persons intent or motivation.
In a way, I agree with Gardener that Intelligence isn't just something singular that is tested with an IQ test. I also believe that an individual can have multiple intelligences that should not be judged based on ones IQ of a certain material. Personally, I am not very intelligent in the fact that I am not able to navigate things as well as the "blind population" during the Spatial intelligence discussion. However, I do show strength in logical-mathematical and musical intelligences. Lastly, I am curious to see if an IQ test will incorporate this theory into the tests that are already performed for intelligence because I believe that more people could become satisfied with their IQ knowing that not just based on math or grammar problem-solving, but on numerous problem-solving intelligences.