For the article by Steven Johnson, I have to disagree with him on the influence of video games on society. While it is a bad thing for a child or anyone else to sit and play video games all day, video games can promote some very impressive abilities amongst gamers. Such abilities can even be greatly beneficial for people in different career paths. Video games can even promote friendships with people from different places. Games nowadays are capable of allowing people to interact with other people either down the street or even on the other side of the world.
According to Steven Johnson, neither video game or books are really a bad thing. Johnson considers that if video games had came before books, then books would be considered controversial. Johnson believes that books have their pros and cons as much, if not more than video games since they both are capable of helping or hurting those that enjoy them. Johnson even mentions that for good things, books can provide knowledge while video games can promote various things with a person's hands. For bad things, Johnson mentions that books can produce apathetic behavior while video games can produce laziness in children.
Games today are actually scientifically proven to be very beneficial for gamers to play that allow them to be able to improve themselves when they are trying to go into a career field that they choose to go into. One kind of career that has been considered to benefit from all kinds of games is being a surgeon due to hand-eye coordination, but this isn't the limit for jobs that people can benefit from when playing games. Because games can be used as a tool for developing a person's abilities, they are often used for many things, such as in driving or for training a person to be able to properly be able to fly planes. Game systems like the Wii or the new xbox360 kinect are also useful, in that for various games, such as an actual surgery game that is available for the Wii, the controller used requires that the gamer also must be precise since it uses an infrared laser that is pointed at the screen, while the kinect has players being more active while playing because of their actual body movement being used or when only their body is being used and they must be able to judge the position of things like an in game soccer ball and be able to react to it. Also for the games that use just a person's body, real sports can benefit since games are getting up and moving around, thereby getting actual exercise.
When Steven Johnson had mentioned that games and books are both thought to cause people to become more apathetic, I strongly and completely disagree on the video game part and agree on books being somewhat bad for developing relationships. Video games are quite capable of helping relationships, since most of them are able to allow multiple people to play the same game as either teammates or in friendly competitions in multiple ways. At first, on systems like the Atari and the original Nintendo, people were only able to play games for two players, and often the two were already friends. When the first Playstation and the Nintendo64 had came out, these allowed more than two people to play and allowed a gamers' friend to invite people over to play. Now thanks to the internet and the improvements to game systems, people are capable of playing with more than just friends. When the xbox360 had came out, it was the first system that allowed people to be able to play with people who had their systems connected to the internet, meaning that people in a small town could play with someone down the street, in another state, or even with a follow gamer on the other side of the Earth. Books on the other hand are read individually, unless they are read to someone who can't read like those with dyslexia or preschoolers.
When Johnson had mentioned that games only produce better hand-eye coordination that’s not true. Games nowadays have started to promote problem solving skills with various puzzle games that are released, to games that have gamers manage things like a small farm to a vast complex city that they can build from the ground up with whatever they want in it. There are even systems out now that require gamers for certain games to have to get up and actually move around in order for them to actually be able to play. The first such system to be produced is the Wii, which uses a combination of a motion sensor and a controller that have the player move in various ways like, for example, paddling a canoe in a game for swinging the controller like swinging a flag. One such game was the wildly popular Wii fit, which enabled people to improve their balance, lose weight, and perform aerobics the games that have you, the gamer manage something will have you do different things to keep things running smoothly, like listening to the people in a virtual cities suggestions and complaints in order to insure that the city is going smoothly and not about to collapse on you. For the new Xbox 360 kinect, the games that go with it require only one controller to use it, you. While the idea is new, the xbox360's controller less idea allows the gamer to be able to move themselves and do various things, playing soccer or interacting with a pet.
Video games will long be part of our culture. Even children are helped while playing video games, by learning skills like math and reading using a combination of playability and the child’s favorite TV shows. Our government believes that if games can’t be banned, then they should be a controlled substance like alcohol or tobacco. Recently, I had found out that congress has establish in California that store that sell video games must now have the person wanting a game produce an ID that shows they are old enough for the game they want to get. Despite their attempts, each day thousands of gamers voice their opposition to these attempts while their numbers also continue to grow. As a fellow gamer and in opposition to people like Steven Johnson on games, I say will forever be a part of the world. “Who says video games are a bad thing?”
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Life at the Library
While at the library, I feel calm and have some peace and quiet. People here are going about their business, working on things for work or school or just doing whatever. People are also looking at the books and movies, seeing what catches their attention and is enjoyable. I am able to read a book without being interrupted by the common noises I deal with constantly each day. I have access to a computer and am able to surf the internet with no problems. This library contains a large variety of books and I am able to reserve one if a book is unavailable at this time. I also don’t have to worry about someone telling me to stop reading a book if I’m deep into it and enjoying it fairly well. Movies are also accessible to me at the library and I can check them out just as I can a book.
A group of people are talking as if no one else is around. The volume of their conversation continues to grow. They act as if they are the only ones in the library. People are also pretty crowded here even though it is a week day. There is only two librarians at the checkout desk so people have to wait in order to check out whatever it is they want or if they have to wait to be helped in finding something. I wish to use a computer but have to wait until someone else's time limit has expired. I, too, am limited in my time on the computer. This forces me to do whatever it is that I am doing quickly, or else I could get kicked off the computer before I am finished due to the time limit restrictions. As I look for a particular book, it has already been checked out which forces me to wait until it is returned.
While having written about the good and bad aspects of my trip to the public library, I feel the good far out way the bad. However, as I describe the negative things, I am more descriptive. This is probably due to the fact that I enjoy the library and these disruptions bother me. I have only a few details for each when I could of had more for each category about the library. I also should be more descriptive on each subject and maybe included more about the people here. I also needed to be more specific about what sort of things I can find at the library and what I cannot find here like the kind of movies there are or the books that they have for people to checkout. I could have also mentioned what it takes for me to get a movie.
My essay could also have been better written in that I could have used better words for the descriptions and provided a more thorough explanation on the problems with some of the things that I had described in both the positives and the negatives about the library. When I wrote about not having to stop reading a book, I could have explained why I would have a problem with someone telling me to stop reading a book. I could also mention the kinds of books that I can find here and what books I like to read while I am here.
A group of people are talking as if no one else is around. The volume of their conversation continues to grow. They act as if they are the only ones in the library. People are also pretty crowded here even though it is a week day. There is only two librarians at the checkout desk so people have to wait in order to check out whatever it is they want or if they have to wait to be helped in finding something. I wish to use a computer but have to wait until someone else's time limit has expired. I, too, am limited in my time on the computer. This forces me to do whatever it is that I am doing quickly, or else I could get kicked off the computer before I am finished due to the time limit restrictions. As I look for a particular book, it has already been checked out which forces me to wait until it is returned.
While having written about the good and bad aspects of my trip to the public library, I feel the good far out way the bad. However, as I describe the negative things, I am more descriptive. This is probably due to the fact that I enjoy the library and these disruptions bother me. I have only a few details for each when I could of had more for each category about the library. I also should be more descriptive on each subject and maybe included more about the people here. I also needed to be more specific about what sort of things I can find at the library and what I cannot find here like the kind of movies there are or the books that they have for people to checkout. I could have also mentioned what it takes for me to get a movie.
My essay could also have been better written in that I could have used better words for the descriptions and provided a more thorough explanation on the problems with some of the things that I had described in both the positives and the negatives about the library. When I wrote about not having to stop reading a book, I could have explained why I would have a problem with someone telling me to stop reading a book. I could also mention the kinds of books that I can find here and what books I like to read while I am here.
A story of my mom
A story of my mom
Wisaphorn Inatarchueajan
The story that I am going to share is not my own story, it happened to my mom and I have been told when I was a little by my grandma. She seemed to be so proud of my mom every time she told me the story. Mom has always been my idol and inspired me to be a tough person.
It started in a little hut made from coconut leaves and wood. It's where grandma and grandpa lived when they decided to spend their whole life together as a couple. The hut located in a middle of nowhere in the rural country side of Thailand. They grew rice and vegetablesfor a living.
They were very poor and didn't even have enough money to buy food and stuff so they ate the vegetables or potatoes or whatever they could find around the area. They would trade the high quality rice they grew in for more rice of lesser quality so that they could have food throughout the year.
One day, Grandma found out that she was pregnant. There wasn't any hospital or clinic around that poor country side. Grandma pretty much took care of herself until she gave birth to my mom. An old lady in the village who was the midwife helped give birth to my mom. Mom was a healthy baby and adorable. Grandma named her "Nuy" it means pretty eyes in Thai, because mom had the most striking eyes grandma had ever seen.
Mom was a very sweet girl. Grandma never had any problems raising her. When she turned five, grandma taught her how to cook rice and it has become her duty to cook rice every day. Everyday grandpa would go take care of buffalos and cows, grandma would grow rice and my little mom would go help. Grandma never heard the word "tired" come out of my mom or cry like a baby for normal five year old girls nowadays.
As time went by, grandma gave birth to twin babies when mom turned six. Mom had to take care of her two little sisters as well as the duties she had to do every day, and again she never complained, because she loved grandma and grandpa so much. She wanted to help as much as she could so her parents wouldn't be so tired all the time. Men in Thailand in the old days would not care much about the kids or housework. They would only do outdoor works. So there were mom and grandma to raise the kids. Since then grandma had been getting pregnant and giving birth to a baby girl every year…until the seventh girl. Mom and her sisters grew up together and they were so close. All the girls didn't get to play or run around a whole lot like other children. They had to do chores and help grandma grow rice and vegetables. They never had any money to buy candy or toys. Fruits from trees around the house were the only candy they could find. Sometimes there was no rice at all, they would go dig potatoes in the woods or look for crabs in the fishing holes or helped grandpa fish.
My mom was like a second mother for all of my aunts because grandma was getting old and she wasn't very healthy. When anybody in the family got sick, they were pretty much helping take care of each other and there was no medicine at all. Hospital was very far away. However life was not that unfair, my mother and my aunts they were able to go to school, even if they did not have any uniforms to wear like other children. Then my mom got a second hand uniform from some neighbors. When it was time for her little sisters to go to school, grandmother didn't have enough money for all of the other siblings. She decided to go talk to the teacher and took mom out of her fourth grade class to help work and earn money for the family.
Mom was so sad but she didn't get angry at grandma at all for doing that. She understood and handled it well. Grandma taught her how to cook and she became the cook of the house and even started carrying food around to sell when she was ten. Everyday she would go sell food at school and watched other kids study or playing on the school grounds. Mom never got mad at her tough life, she loved grandma and grandpa so much she would do anything for them.When she turned fourteen, mom decided to go to Bangkok; which is the name of the capital city of Thailand. She started working as a waitress in a small restaurant. She was pushed and made fun of because she was just a poor country girl. However, she never gave up. She was so patient and saved up all her money and sent it home. All she thought about was wanting to make her parents happy and have food on their table. She was a very beautiful woman inside and out so there were some other waitresses who did not like her and told lies to the manager until she got fired. Mom wasso sad, but she started looking for a new job immediately. It was so hard to find a job, especially with no education. One day she met an old friend walking down the street. They talked for a long time and her friend asked if she wanted to come work with her. Mom knew that the job was to be a prostitute. Mom didn’t like that at all, but her friend said a young pretty girl like mom would definitely make a lot of money; it made her think about her family back home. She told her friend that she would think about it. She couldn’t sleep all night because she was thinking about how to make everybody's life better.
She finally remembered what grandma used to tell her “What goes around comes around, if you do good things you will get good things back”. Mom realized she was really looking down on herself if she was thinking about being a prostitute. She got up and talked to herself “I am going to get a job today or I will go home”. That day, she walked around without even having any money to buy a piece of bread because she had already sent it all to the family.She thought to herself maybe she’s not meant to be here, she would just go home. But, as soon as she looked up, she saw a paper on a building saying that they were looking for hard workers to work in a jewelries factory. She ran in right away and she got the job!
She got a job as a maid, but she was really interested in those people cutting gemstone and shaping beautiful gems. Everyday she would look at them and tried to remember how they did it while she was cleaning the floors. One day she decided to walk to the main office and talk to the manager, she told him that she would love to learn to do that type of work. He didn’t like that because she was only eighteen and it was men’s job, but he gave her a try because he had a crush on my mom. He taught her how to cut gems and shape them. He was shocked to find out that she was very good at cutting gems. Mom practiced everyday with her manager and she knew that she was in love with him. Days went by until roughly a year had passed, he then asked her to marry him and mom was very happy. They worked there together and saved up some money to start their own business making jewelries. They had to start from ground zero. Mom helped him as much as she could, even though she could not read.
The business grew quickly because they were hard-working and honest. She believed in what goes around comes around. All her positive thoughts and actions were coming back to her. From a poor country girl who never had everything like other children, she now had whatever she wanted. My mom grew up not have an education, but she has still been able to send me to America to study. When other educated people can’t send their own children abroad to be schooled. I have never been embarrassed by my mother, but I feel so lucky to be her daughter and she is my hero. Whatever I do I would always think about her and hopefully get successful like her
Wisaphorn Inatarchueajan
The story that I am going to share is not my own story, it happened to my mom and I have been told when I was a little by my grandma. She seemed to be so proud of my mom every time she told me the story. Mom has always been my idol and inspired me to be a tough person.
It started in a little hut made from coconut leaves and wood. It's where grandma and grandpa lived when they decided to spend their whole life together as a couple. The hut located in a middle of nowhere in the rural country side of Thailand. They grew rice and vegetablesfor a living.
They were very poor and didn't even have enough money to buy food and stuff so they ate the vegetables or potatoes or whatever they could find around the area. They would trade the high quality rice they grew in for more rice of lesser quality so that they could have food throughout the year.
One day, Grandma found out that she was pregnant. There wasn't any hospital or clinic around that poor country side. Grandma pretty much took care of herself until she gave birth to my mom. An old lady in the village who was the midwife helped give birth to my mom. Mom was a healthy baby and adorable. Grandma named her "Nuy" it means pretty eyes in Thai, because mom had the most striking eyes grandma had ever seen.
Mom was a very sweet girl. Grandma never had any problems raising her. When she turned five, grandma taught her how to cook rice and it has become her duty to cook rice every day. Everyday grandpa would go take care of buffalos and cows, grandma would grow rice and my little mom would go help. Grandma never heard the word "tired" come out of my mom or cry like a baby for normal five year old girls nowadays.
As time went by, grandma gave birth to twin babies when mom turned six. Mom had to take care of her two little sisters as well as the duties she had to do every day, and again she never complained, because she loved grandma and grandpa so much. She wanted to help as much as she could so her parents wouldn't be so tired all the time. Men in Thailand in the old days would not care much about the kids or housework. They would only do outdoor works. So there were mom and grandma to raise the kids. Since then grandma had been getting pregnant and giving birth to a baby girl every year…until the seventh girl. Mom and her sisters grew up together and they were so close. All the girls didn't get to play or run around a whole lot like other children. They had to do chores and help grandma grow rice and vegetables. They never had any money to buy candy or toys. Fruits from trees around the house were the only candy they could find. Sometimes there was no rice at all, they would go dig potatoes in the woods or look for crabs in the fishing holes or helped grandpa fish.
My mom was like a second mother for all of my aunts because grandma was getting old and she wasn't very healthy. When anybody in the family got sick, they were pretty much helping take care of each other and there was no medicine at all. Hospital was very far away. However life was not that unfair, my mother and my aunts they were able to go to school, even if they did not have any uniforms to wear like other children. Then my mom got a second hand uniform from some neighbors. When it was time for her little sisters to go to school, grandmother didn't have enough money for all of the other siblings. She decided to go talk to the teacher and took mom out of her fourth grade class to help work and earn money for the family.
Mom was so sad but she didn't get angry at grandma at all for doing that. She understood and handled it well. Grandma taught her how to cook and she became the cook of the house and even started carrying food around to sell when she was ten. Everyday she would go sell food at school and watched other kids study or playing on the school grounds. Mom never got mad at her tough life, she loved grandma and grandpa so much she would do anything for them.When she turned fourteen, mom decided to go to Bangkok; which is the name of the capital city of Thailand. She started working as a waitress in a small restaurant. She was pushed and made fun of because she was just a poor country girl. However, she never gave up. She was so patient and saved up all her money and sent it home. All she thought about was wanting to make her parents happy and have food on their table. She was a very beautiful woman inside and out so there were some other waitresses who did not like her and told lies to the manager until she got fired. Mom wasso sad, but she started looking for a new job immediately. It was so hard to find a job, especially with no education. One day she met an old friend walking down the street. They talked for a long time and her friend asked if she wanted to come work with her. Mom knew that the job was to be a prostitute. Mom didn’t like that at all, but her friend said a young pretty girl like mom would definitely make a lot of money; it made her think about her family back home. She told her friend that she would think about it. She couldn’t sleep all night because she was thinking about how to make everybody's life better.
She finally remembered what grandma used to tell her “What goes around comes around, if you do good things you will get good things back”. Mom realized she was really looking down on herself if she was thinking about being a prostitute. She got up and talked to herself “I am going to get a job today or I will go home”. That day, she walked around without even having any money to buy a piece of bread because she had already sent it all to the family.She thought to herself maybe she’s not meant to be here, she would just go home. But, as soon as she looked up, she saw a paper on a building saying that they were looking for hard workers to work in a jewelries factory. She ran in right away and she got the job!
She got a job as a maid, but she was really interested in those people cutting gemstone and shaping beautiful gems. Everyday she would look at them and tried to remember how they did it while she was cleaning the floors. One day she decided to walk to the main office and talk to the manager, she told him that she would love to learn to do that type of work. He didn’t like that because she was only eighteen and it was men’s job, but he gave her a try because he had a crush on my mom. He taught her how to cut gems and shape them. He was shocked to find out that she was very good at cutting gems. Mom practiced everyday with her manager and she knew that she was in love with him. Days went by until roughly a year had passed, he then asked her to marry him and mom was very happy. They worked there together and saved up some money to start their own business making jewelries. They had to start from ground zero. Mom helped him as much as she could, even though she could not read.
The business grew quickly because they were hard-working and honest. She believed in what goes around comes around. All her positive thoughts and actions were coming back to her. From a poor country girl who never had everything like other children, she now had whatever she wanted. My mom grew up not have an education, but she has still been able to send me to America to study. When other educated people can’t send their own children abroad to be schooled. I have never been embarrassed by my mother, but I feel so lucky to be her daughter and she is my hero. Whatever I do I would always think about her and hopefully get successful like her
Lunken Airport
Part A: Positive 1. Every Sunday evening, a little before dusk when it is cool and breezy outside, I leave home with my dog, Grace to go to Lunken Airport to take her on a walking trail. The drive is brief and when we arrive I see other people anxious and ready to walk and forget about their long day at work. Some are unpacking their bikes, some are walking their dogs, and a few are just walking by themselves. The parking lot has plenty of spaces open for me to park, so I choose the closest one to the trail. Like a mesh of the rainbow plastered on the sky Grace and I see the sunset as we begin to walk up the hill. People walking past Grace and me politely say 'hello' and often say Grace bears an unlikely resemblance to Tramp from Lady and the Tramp. When we are walking there is so much happening, the world is spinning around us, yet it is still peaceful. The leaves on the trees are arrays of different colors, some of them crisp, have fallen on the trail making quiet crackling noises when they are stepped on. On the left side of the trail is a small lake where geese are at. Grace and I occasionally hear their funny squawks. To the left of us, planes are going down the runway as the sun continues to go down and the lights on the runway become brighter almost looking like a festive party for just Grace and me, making it a beautiful, serene scene. Negative 2. Every Sunday evening, when the pests of the night come on duty I take my dog, Grace to Lunken Airport to a walking trail. When we arrive to the teeny tiny parking lot made out of bumpy gravel I look for a parking spot. Grace, excited is barking into my ear like a thousand fire alarms ringing at once as I am trying to navigate around the other walkers walking in front of my car for no apparent reason. We manage to get out of the car and begin to walk up the hill. I feel a striking cold breeze and begin to get goose bumps just starting out the treacherous walk. As we begin to enter the wooded areas I hear all kinds of creepy craw-lies bustling around chirping every millisecond and I am pretty sure that some went up my nose. At the airport, the planes are thundering loud and often give me quite a scare when the starts suddenly like a gun, shot off at a random moment. A while into the walk, a squirrel with auburn hair and a tail that sticks up like a rock stars hair runs across the trail which causes a scene of absolute chaos. My dog begins to whine and cry out. I am then forced to drag her away for a good minute. People passing by stare at me as if I am the parent whose kid starts screaming in the grocery store over a wanted bag of candy that they refused to buy. When we head back to the car I am exhausted and ready to go home and vedge in my pajamas. As I sluggishly put in my car keys and sit down in the car I look on my legs and see that I have three new mosquito bites. Part B Reflection: This particular writing exercise of writing a scene at both a negative and positive outlook proved to be difficult to me. It was definitely difficult for me to write a negative look on the airport since I love it. At the end of the week it is so nice for me to have something that I can go do and just enjoy nature. When I was writing the negative point of view I essentially took the little small things that could be negative and tried to exaggerate them to an extreme. Basically, it showed me that a story can have two sides or more. It just depends on whose point of view it is from and their specific outlook on life. I also found that when one exaggerates their points it helps with their argument and persuasion. When I changed my description from positive to negative I found out that what one mentions can make out a scene to sounds appeasing or not. Also using certain writing mechanisms such as metaphors or similes can help get a writers opinion on the subject across to the readers. As an example, in my first description (the positive) I described the pureness of nature and peaceful scenery. While in the second description (the negative) I described the airport and being loud and annoying. This all depends on personal outlook and opinions. One certain person could find the airport annoying and the cold and another could just focus on the beautiful lights and the sweetness of fall weather. Perception is the key difference in the two types of views. Perhaps how a person grew up or their values could have influenced their particular way of looking at things. As an example, many people that have grown up in the area feel the airport is a nuisance and have rallied in order to stop it from getting more flights since it is in a residential area. Other people may think it is neat to see the different planes taking off so close to them. This all refers back to the idea of angle of vision. Numerous things ultimately cause a certain angle of vision, whether it is beliefs, culture differences, prior knowledge on a certain subject, or even just a person’s likes or what they are more apt to in life. I would say that it is a challenge to write a story from two differing points of view. Most people are already going to have a certain set of opinions that causes them to perceive things in certain ways.
Society, slaves to television and school
According to John Gatto in “Why Schools Don’t Educate”, today’s generation is ruled by two things, television and school. Gatto believes that children’s lives, full of being constantly busy are causing the degradation of our people. He adds that these things are leading to an even bigger problem, a social crisis. Gatto states that when children are not spending half of their days at school they are sitting in front of the television watching shows. When children have no time to go on adventures and explore using their imagination it hinders their individuality. Gatto argues that children spend more time learning about subjects in school than actually learning about the real practicality of the world. Frankly, they are not getting the chance to grow as a unique individual. Gatto a former teacher speaks briefly about the aspirations of his students; they have none! He states that children today “have almost no curiosity” and are “indifferent to the adult world.” Gatto later describes the classic American family as being “destroyed”. With the quick hustle and bustle of today; the number of families that eat at the dinner table has immensely decreased. This in turn has also caused a negative effect on a children’s growth, perhaps they will not grow up with good mentors in their house. Which can later lead to bad decisions in one’s life…whether it be drugs, violence, recreational sex, or whatever. Gatto appeals to common values with readers when he uses pathos, or emotional persuasion. He idolizes the good ole days in the past when children actually went out and had their own adventures instead of watching someone elses on the television. Gatto did not mention cold hard facts as a backbone for his argument, however one must remember that this is a speech and in speeches pure facts would not be appreciated. Also yes, Gatto is generalizing the children population however, if one simply looks around Gatto’s argument can be seen as true in a majority of cases. In the speech Gatto presents many strong opinions that may come off as a bit harsh. At the same time, all of his opinions still contain a slight taste of reality to readers. If readers compare themselves to the article, they will more than likely find it relatable. Many readers will find themselves agreeing that their days are consumed by work/school and going home to watch television in the evening. After a long, tiring day at work people greatly enjoy coming home, relaxing, and living another life through a favorite television show or football game. School already takes up at least eight hours of one’s day. When doing homework is put on top of that time, it can equal out to about 12 hours of “school” per day. This leaves little time for one to explore one’s hobbies in the day. However, one could definitely present a strong argument that school actually increases ones individuality and gives one a want to strive to learn more in life. Gatto believes that between school and television are the “pathologies” of this generation. Children are not able to be individuals. Instead they are spending hours upon hours watching television and wasting their days in classrooms. Gatto brings to light that there is a big problem with today’s generation. Today’s generation rarely gets the chance to explore one’s own niche. One cannot possibly emphasize enough that change needs to come to these children’s lives. There needs to be less time spent watching television and more time outside exploring learning about the world. On the other hand, the world is quickly evolving into a fast paced keep moving mentality. Perhaps the today’s children are just adapting to this kind of lifestyle. However, one should still maintain their bearings and limit their television watching and do something that will help them grow as a person instead. Also when one thinks back to past generations, the generations before said have always disagreed with the current way of things and found it to be causing a downfall in society. As an example, when teenagers in the late fifties listened to Elvis Presley’s music, parents thought his music was ludicrous and thought he was going to ruin society. That generation ended up turning out just fine. So perhaps Gatto’s argument can just be seen as a difference between generations. Overall, Gatto argues a good point in claiming that America has “lost [it’s] identity” showing that when children spend too much time in front of the television it impairs their ability to become their own unique individual with their own stories and experiences.
Why school don’t educate
Why school don’t educate
Wisaphorn Intarachueajan
I have been reading John Taylor Gatto's point of view against television and school. I agreed with him that some kids need to cut down spending too much time on television, but I don't think that the kids spend too much time in school. Gatto made it sound like school and television takes over a "whole" lot of time for kids to grow up, time with family and their private time. "My children attend school thirty hours a week; use about eight hours getting ready, going and coming home; and spend an average of seven hours a week in home work"(John Taylor Gatto). He makes us think that the children study too much. A matter of fact; he overlooked the fact that our kids don't really go to school all year long. They have winter break, spring break and a whole three months for summer vacation, not counting other holidays and weekends that they get to take off. They sure have enough time. I never heard of any teacher complain about kids spend too much time in school before. And he was "The best teacher of the year" "Think of the things that are killing us as a nation: drugs, brainless competition, recreational sex, the pornography of violence, gambling, alcohol, and the worst pornography of all – lives devoted to buying things- accumulation as a philosophy – all of them are addictions of dependent personalities, and that is what our brand of schooling must inevitably produce"(Gatto) That is pretty true that school inevitably produce but I don't think that in the communities don't have these problems, they are everywhere. What are actually teacher's duties? Do they only come to school seven or eight hours a day to teach and go home? Why can't the kids grow up with teachers at school as well as with their parents at home? I do believe that children need guidance. The problem is not school and television, but the current education system doesn't know how to show the students the usefulness of the skills. What's the point of having a lot of time with themselves but they don't know how to it worthily? Many kids might be agreed with Gatto, because most of them don't like school. Maybe he should focus on what teachers are going to teach and interest the students to use the skills they learn more than giving them time that they don't know how to spend worthily.
When I was in high school, many times I questioned my teacher. Why do I have to learn this and that, Am I really going to need it in the future? My teacher would always say "This is what everybody does, and you have to as well." Until now I still don't get it. It seems like it really doesn't matter how they are taught, as long as the students pass the exams. Which is kind of support Gatto that schools don't educate but I don't think school is a waste of time if we have a better system.
When I went to high school in Thailand, everything was way different than in the US. All the kids did the same things. I went to school from eight to four every day, but that's not enough; I had to go to tutoring school until nine at night because everybody else did, in order to get in a good university. I came home at nine-thirty, did my homework and went to bed. On Saturday I went to tutoring school from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon. Sunday was left for studying and doing homework. I didn't see my parents all day sometimes. This fact happens to many kids in Asia. I think this is called too much, but I grew up fine never had any problems. I think keeping yourself busy on school is better than having too much free time to curious about drugs and sex.
When I came over to American's high school, I was surprised that they didn't have any tutoring school at all. Kids got to play or do something for themselves after school, like watching television, sports, playing games etc. And I thought it was good enough. How much more time do they need? I also wanted to clarify that Gatto got it wrong with the television. "My children watch fifty-five hours of television a week" Gatto said. Do they really watch television like 7-8 hours a day? I mean that is kind of exaggerating. He is the parent, why would he let them watch that much. But anyhow did he mean what they watch are nonsensical or something? He didn't say what they are watching. If it is nonsensical, maybe he should guide them what is good for them and actually watch it with them. Is television the real problem that wrecks the kids?
They banned all bad words, sexual scene, drug, cruelty etc. on television anyways. No, television is not really the real problem that ruins kid's life, but what's on it. Depends on what parents guide them to watch and how long they should be watching. I personally think that television is a very good entertainment. It interests kids more than listening to teacher talk the whole class. Many teachers use television as an instruction media, which is a great idea. It would be a better situation for the individual child.
should we just have every child do home school and smash all the televisions?
Wisaphorn Intarachueajan
I have been reading John Taylor Gatto's point of view against television and school. I agreed with him that some kids need to cut down spending too much time on television, but I don't think that the kids spend too much time in school. Gatto made it sound like school and television takes over a "whole" lot of time for kids to grow up, time with family and their private time. "My children attend school thirty hours a week; use about eight hours getting ready, going and coming home; and spend an average of seven hours a week in home work"(John Taylor Gatto). He makes us think that the children study too much. A matter of fact; he overlooked the fact that our kids don't really go to school all year long. They have winter break, spring break and a whole three months for summer vacation, not counting other holidays and weekends that they get to take off. They sure have enough time. I never heard of any teacher complain about kids spend too much time in school before. And he was "The best teacher of the year" "Think of the things that are killing us as a nation: drugs, brainless competition, recreational sex, the pornography of violence, gambling, alcohol, and the worst pornography of all – lives devoted to buying things- accumulation as a philosophy – all of them are addictions of dependent personalities, and that is what our brand of schooling must inevitably produce"(Gatto) That is pretty true that school inevitably produce but I don't think that in the communities don't have these problems, they are everywhere. What are actually teacher's duties? Do they only come to school seven or eight hours a day to teach and go home? Why can't the kids grow up with teachers at school as well as with their parents at home? I do believe that children need guidance. The problem is not school and television, but the current education system doesn't know how to show the students the usefulness of the skills. What's the point of having a lot of time with themselves but they don't know how to it worthily? Many kids might be agreed with Gatto, because most of them don't like school. Maybe he should focus on what teachers are going to teach and interest the students to use the skills they learn more than giving them time that they don't know how to spend worthily.
When I was in high school, many times I questioned my teacher. Why do I have to learn this and that, Am I really going to need it in the future? My teacher would always say "This is what everybody does, and you have to as well." Until now I still don't get it. It seems like it really doesn't matter how they are taught, as long as the students pass the exams. Which is kind of support Gatto that schools don't educate but I don't think school is a waste of time if we have a better system.
When I went to high school in Thailand, everything was way different than in the US. All the kids did the same things. I went to school from eight to four every day, but that's not enough; I had to go to tutoring school until nine at night because everybody else did, in order to get in a good university. I came home at nine-thirty, did my homework and went to bed. On Saturday I went to tutoring school from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon. Sunday was left for studying and doing homework. I didn't see my parents all day sometimes. This fact happens to many kids in Asia. I think this is called too much, but I grew up fine never had any problems. I think keeping yourself busy on school is better than having too much free time to curious about drugs and sex.
When I came over to American's high school, I was surprised that they didn't have any tutoring school at all. Kids got to play or do something for themselves after school, like watching television, sports, playing games etc. And I thought it was good enough. How much more time do they need? I also wanted to clarify that Gatto got it wrong with the television. "My children watch fifty-five hours of television a week" Gatto said. Do they really watch television like 7-8 hours a day? I mean that is kind of exaggerating. He is the parent, why would he let them watch that much. But anyhow did he mean what they watch are nonsensical or something? He didn't say what they are watching. If it is nonsensical, maybe he should guide them what is good for them and actually watch it with them. Is television the real problem that wrecks the kids?
They banned all bad words, sexual scene, drug, cruelty etc. on television anyways. No, television is not really the real problem that ruins kid's life, but what's on it. Depends on what parents guide them to watch and how long they should be watching. I personally think that television is a very good entertainment. It interests kids more than listening to teacher talk the whole class. Many teachers use television as an instruction media, which is a great idea. It would be a better situation for the individual child.
should we just have every child do home school and smash all the televisions?
A friend who changed me
A friend who changed me
Wisaphorn Intarachueajan
When I was about six year old, I always thought that I was a boy because I had been growing up with my cousins. All we played was shooting guns and playing with car toys. If I was lucky, they would play family with me. I loved to be a mommy, so I could yell at my boys and told them what to do. Sometimes We had a cheating daddy with his other girlfriend, I would get to play as a mean wife and slapped the other girlfriend of my husband (fake slaps) because we learned it from Soap Opera on the television at night. It makes me laugh every time I think about how funny my cousin acted like a girl to be the other girlfriend of my husband. Anyhow, that was the only time I get to play like a girl. Other than that, I was a boy soldier. Oh! I could be a wrestler too, I always beat my skinny cousins because I was fat and bigger than them. That's how I got accepted from the boys.
I actually had girlfriends also. They lived not very far from my house, but they were teenagers. All they did was talking about boys and making themselves look pretty. I was only six year old, who cared if I walked around barefoot or picked my nose and wiped it on my shirt. Those girls thought I was too fat and gross to be around "too cool girls" like them.I would have exploded to be around them anyway. All I had to do was listening to them talking about boys. Why? Boys were not that fun! Except for getting them beaten.
One day, a new neighbor just moved in. I was seven at the time and was still a tomboy. God might have felt sorry for me or something so he sent me a daughter of the new neighbor next door to play with me and she was my age. We became good friends and played together everyday. We also opened our own restaurants and took turns going to each other's restaurant because the boys wouldn't like to buy our food that made of leaves and dirt. She also invented Barbie dolls to my life. I forgot how much loved to beat the boys on wrestling! I turned to be real girl because of her.
If I did not know her, I would have been a tom boy until now. I have not seen her since I started going to high school. She has moved to another town with her parents. I still haven't heard about her since then but I never forgot about her. She was one of the most important persons in my life. I am a girl until now because of her :)
Wisaphorn Intarachueajan
When I was about six year old, I always thought that I was a boy because I had been growing up with my cousins. All we played was shooting guns and playing with car toys. If I was lucky, they would play family with me. I loved to be a mommy, so I could yell at my boys and told them what to do. Sometimes We had a cheating daddy with his other girlfriend, I would get to play as a mean wife and slapped the other girlfriend of my husband (fake slaps) because we learned it from Soap Opera on the television at night. It makes me laugh every time I think about how funny my cousin acted like a girl to be the other girlfriend of my husband. Anyhow, that was the only time I get to play like a girl. Other than that, I was a boy soldier. Oh! I could be a wrestler too, I always beat my skinny cousins because I was fat and bigger than them. That's how I got accepted from the boys.
I actually had girlfriends also. They lived not very far from my house, but they were teenagers. All they did was talking about boys and making themselves look pretty. I was only six year old, who cared if I walked around barefoot or picked my nose and wiped it on my shirt. Those girls thought I was too fat and gross to be around "too cool girls" like them.I would have exploded to be around them anyway. All I had to do was listening to them talking about boys. Why? Boys were not that fun! Except for getting them beaten.
One day, a new neighbor just moved in. I was seven at the time and was still a tomboy. God might have felt sorry for me or something so he sent me a daughter of the new neighbor next door to play with me and she was my age. We became good friends and played together everyday. We also opened our own restaurants and took turns going to each other's restaurant because the boys wouldn't like to buy our food that made of leaves and dirt. She also invented Barbie dolls to my life. I forgot how much loved to beat the boys on wrestling! I turned to be real girl because of her.
If I did not know her, I would have been a tom boy until now. I have not seen her since I started going to high school. She has moved to another town with her parents. I still haven't heard about her since then but I never forgot about her. She was one of the most important persons in my life. I am a girl until now because of her :)
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