A Reflection on What I Learned

Starting college, and even a few weeks ago, I had no idea as to what I could do with my major. When people would ask, “What are you studying at IUP?” I would reply, “English.” and then comes the most dreaded and most common response, “What are you going ot do with that? Teach?”. My response  would of course be, “No” and ” I’m not sure what I’m going  to do with it” and that was the truth. I had no idea what I was going to do after college. I suppose most people would call that reckless. In all actuality I didn’t really care about what I was going to do. I’m more concerned with gaining as much knowledge as I can with my brief time here. But, because of this project, I have learned that there are many job opportunities for the English major, especially those with prestigious internships. It’s simple really, text is everywhere, and by text I mean any written word. Text simply doesn’t simply spontaneously create, someone has to be there to write it. So, anywhere there is text there is a job for someone who can write. The more traditional jobs for those with an English degree are those that mainly deal with word delivery. The traditional jobs being in theater, editing, news, film, publishing, etc. anything that deals with the delivery of the written word. So, my job opportunities are nearly endless and now when someone asks what I can do with my English degree, I can tell them, “It’s less of a mater of what I can do , and more of what I want to do” of course I will need to focus my studies, but I think I’ll have time for that later.

“‘Academically Adrift’: Are American college kids falling behind?” My Thoughts on Educational Reform

Reform needed in the education system? Possibly. If we examine the history of modern education, especially that of public education on the collegiate level, we can see that it was created with the industrial revolution in mind. Subsequently, there has been a rise in the deterioration of educational requirements over time. Why? Because the times themselves have changed, the industrial revolution is over and the information age has begun; it is an age of mass media and communication. The model for which the whole of public education was based on the collective psyche and ideologies of those living within the industrial revolution, and as I said, the times have changed. The deterioration of collegiate education, and yes, even the education of K-12 could be attributed to the rise of new technology. For example, the very words that I write now are being analyzed by my computer. It combs them for spelling and grammatical errors and in a sense, because of this, it is writing a quarter of my blog for me. Ergo, I no longer have to memorize the more complex words of the English and thus I do less of the thinking and a machine does more, by extension my mind deteriorates and I am less than the vanguards of education that came before me. I do not pretend to entertain the idea the spell-check singlehandedly is destroying our education system, but I do believe that spell-check and technology like it have a hand in the demise of education. So yes, I do feel that education needs to be reformed. I do not agree with all of the points made in the article on review, but the above stated are my contributing thoughts on this discussion.

Shitty First Drafts Review

So, this blog post…hold on, was it even a blog post? Or was it a paper? Either way, it was on a blog website so for the sake of this blog, I will consider it a blog. So, this blog post, it really pertains to my current psyche. I have this idea that great writers sit down and instantly spout out this magical text that is brilliant and witty without even trying. And you know what? It was discouraging. I usually find my self procrastinating just as she described herself doing. Getting something to eat as a means of distraction, staring at some random object, simply being unproductive. My point being, I could really connect with the author and the subject she was talking about. However, it did fell like she was straying from the subject near the end of the blog. And as a reader, I didn’t really find it all that interesting. Looks like she should take her own advice and only publish the second draft, but if that was her second draft then I have no faith in her writing or her methods.Over all this blog was somewhat helpful.

Vinco

I checked out the Wiki in Vinco, my home town, and there was little more than statistical data. I can not be sure if the information on the site is still accurate, but I do know that it is out of date. To tell you the truth I was surprised that Vinco was even on Wikipedia seeing as how the whole village is only four square miles large. There was nothing I would have changed on the site, there is really nothing to add. I am unsure why Vinco was even founded. It is possible that it could have been an old coal mine town, but a long time ago my pap told me that there was a tobacco processing  plant there and the houses just cropped up around it. However, this is highly unlikely seeing as how Pennsylvania does not have the climate necessary to grow tobacco. And it is unlikely that a farm from the South would ship the tobacco up here, it seams as though it would be too costly.

Into The Wild

Thus far I think Chris is a self-righteous young man who has strong beliefs and big ideas, and has the will to follow through with his ideas. It is his ideologies that drive him along with a general loathing for his father. He obtained his ideologies from various wilderness enthusiast authors. I believe I can connect with Chris on a few levels, but not all of them.  For example, his concept of growth through adventure is quite appealing, and I’m sure most people can relate to being angry at their parents. But as for me, I can’t conceive completely abandoning my parents or other family members. It seems like an irrational and reckless decision.

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